I Surrender
by BehindxthexLens
Summary: Troy Bolton is a prince, who is next in line for his father's throne. Gabriella Montez is the best Reporter in LA. One day when she interviews him they make an extreme connection. But Troy's father, Arthur doesn't approve of Gabriella. Only Fate knows, if
1. Interviewing

**A/N- This is the first chapter in the 'I Surrender Story' I've written. This story is a like a fairy tale in a way because Troy is a prince, and Gabriella is a normal every day person. Hope you enjoy the first Chapter, and Please R&R!**

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His Royal Highness Troy Bolton was always a fair and an easy going person. So when his secretary called him and told him he had an interview with popular reporter, Gabriella Montez, he knew it wouldn't be wise to refuse.

When he walked into her office she was seated at her desk, pen and paper in front of her. She was wearing a long skirt, and a white blouse with black high heels. She looked very professional.

Even though she was fully covered he kept imagining her muscle-toned legs wrapping around him.

He smiled gently when he entered her office. She looked busy, of course, what reporter wasn't?

She was searching and sorting through papers on her desk then she looked up, realizing that he had arrived. She smiled back at him and stuck a strand of her black hair behind her ear.

"You can take a seat, Mr. Bolton." She said.

Troy instantly took a seat in front of her desk. He couldn't seem to keep his mind off of her. She was gorgeous, not like any girl he'd ever seen, she was like a goddess in his mind. The last time he saw a girl like that it was Gloria. But it hurt too much to think about her.

Troy finally understood that he couldn't stand this interview.. she was having spell put under him, he simply couldn't concentrate. His thoughts were interrupted by her first question.

"How do you feel about taking over your father's crown?" She asked while taking off the cap on her pen.

Troy swallowed, feeling a lump in his throat. His throat also felt dry, he felt as if he couldn't talk. But he managed to answer her question.

"Well, let's just say.. I'm overly excited." He said while shifting In his seat.

Gabriella smiled and looked down. "Mhmm... very funny."

Troy still was captured by her beauty he couldn't take it anymore. He looked to the corner of the room, trying to not make eye contact with her.

"Could you please excuse me?" He asked.

Gabriella looked up suddenly, surprised. "Yeah..sure.."

Troy stood up and opened the door, walking out of her office to meet up with his best friend and body guard, Will.

"Will, look inside that office, what do you see?" Troy asked while running a hand through his hair.

Will looked through the small panel of glass. "A woman." He replied.

Troy turned to look at him. "No, not just a woman.. she's like a witch that has a spell over me.."

Will had never seen Troy like this sense Gloria, but thinking about her, put a pain in Troy's heart but also put a pain in his too.

Will leaned against the wall. "So.. ask her out?"

Troy's eyes widened.

"Are you serious? She's a reporter! And from what I've heard she's the best at finding out people's secrets."

Will shrugged. "You have nothing to hide."

Troy raised his eyebrows. How could he forget?

Will nodded, understanding. "Then you have to let her go."

Troy groaned and also leaned against a wall.

"I know, but my body won't listen, it aches for her.."

He ran another hand through his hair.

"This interview has to end, I don't know how much more I can take, Will."

Will nodded. "Tell her that you have another interview to go to."

Troy nodded. After all it was for the best.

When Troy reentered the room, Gabriella felt as if her breath was taken away. But she managed a smile. But her pulse was going faster and faster, what was happening to her?

Troy walked up to her. "I'm sorry.. but this interview has to end short.."

Gabriella's brown eyes met his blue ones, sending sparks. "Oh.. what's going on?"

"I have another interview to go to.. I'm terribly sorry.."

Gabriella nodded. She should have known that the prince would be as snobby as she had heard.

She reached her hand out for him to shake it. When their skin touched she felt something so pure and amazing she couldn't describe it. She heard him gasp when he felt the same thing she did.

He moved closer to her and slowly whispered into her ear.

"Have dinner with me.." She smelt of flowers; wild flowers.

Gabriella's breathing came to a short gasp. "What." She said.

"I have this thing to attend Sunday, say you will go with me."

His blue eyes were begging her to say yes, but she still was in shock at what to say.

She found it incredibly hard to breathe, but she nodded slowly in her response

Troy moved his hand to trace the outline of her lips if he would move a little closer he would be able to taste them, but he slowly pulled away, controlling himself.

"Good, it's a date."

He slowly released her hand and walked out of her office.

Gabriella still felt out of breath she sat back down at her desk, for she suddenly felt woozy.

She had a date with a prince.


	2. Can't Cancel

The full impact on what she had agreed to, hit Gabriella the moment she sat down and tried to write. Her mind couldn't put together basic facts about the prince. All she remembered was that he was from an island called Fioria, meaning flowers. He was 21, good looking, rich, and sexy as.. She shook her head.

She logged onto the Internet hoping a quick search would give her enough information to put together a decent story. However an hour later she was convinced she wouldn't find much. What was she thinking? The newspapers she read described him as the most eligible bachelor, and nationwide he was ranked number one in the crowd of hot, young, and royal.

Gabriella continued her search on Troy, until she found out the "thing" he asked her to was the **Midnight Ball**, the biggest party event of the year, and here she was thinking it was just going to be a quiet dinner with friends. She couldn't take this anymore, no way could she go to a ball with a prince. She felt as if she was Cinderella, but she knew what she had to do to fix this.

She picked up the phone to call Troy but put it down right away, she didn't have the number and she didn't want to call his secretary to cancel the date. She shook her head and walked out of her office and made her way to her boss's office, knocking on it gently she made her way in.

"I don't have a story on the prince guy." She said immediately when she walked in.

He chuckled, and leaned back into his chair. "So he got to you, huh? I hear he is quite the charmer."

Gabriella took a deep breath. "He's a man, nothing more."

Her boss chuckled more. "That isn't what I hear, in fact some of his ex-girlfriends described him as the most charming man they've ever met"

Gabriella closed her eyes, she didn't really want to her about Troy's ex-girlfriends. In fact she wanted to pretend that they didn't exist.

"Look, if he is hiding something, I will find it but for now, I don't have anything, okay?" Gabriella said.

She waited for her boss to accept the fact that she had nothing. And once he did she turned around, leaving his office. She needed to get out of this fast.

Gabriella drove to her house and when she got there she entered through the front door and instantly curled up on the couch, where she fell asleep. She dreamed of Troy, she saw his face, felt the softness of his lips, and the warmth of his touch.

The next morning, Gabriella woke up she had this feeling that she had to end the date before it was too late, so got on the phone and called Troy's secretary, she told the him that she had a few more questions to ask the prince, and the secretary said that she would put her call through to Troy's mansion.

The phone rang a couple of times before someone answered it was a male voice.

"Hello?"

Gabriella froze for a second. "Your Highness.."

It wasn't Troy on the phone it was Will.

"His Highness is busy at the moment, this is his aide, is there something I can help you with?"

Gabriella sighed. She couldn't cancel their date through his aide now could she?

"Is there any way I could speak to him, this is a personal matter."

Will knew what she was trying to do, but he wasn't going to make this easy for her.

"Ms. Montez, I'm afraid his Highness is very busy, If you like, you could leave a message, and I'll be sure to give it to him."

Gabriella bit her bottom lip, she knew this wasn't going to be easy.

"Could you have him call me?"

Will nodded on the other end. "Sure."

Gabriella gave him her work, and home phone numbers. And hung up.

Just as Will hung up the phone Troy walked into the room.

"Was that for me?" Troy asked.

"No, just a wrong number." Will said back.

He waited till Troy left to rip up Gabriella's note into pieces. Life was about taking chances and he was willing to take one for his best friend and this woman.

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Gabriella waited till Midnight to get a call from Troy, but she never got one. She decided to go to his house and end it personally, she rang his doorbell, actually five times for that matter. But got no answer, he had to be there, he just had to.

When she heard footsteps coming from inside, and the doorknob started to twist she panicked she quickly jumped into the bushes.

Troy looked around puzzled. He could have sworn he heard the doorbell ring, it was probably just his mind playing tricks on him. It had been doing that ever sense he met that reporter, he kept smelling her perfume everywhere, and seeing her face in every woman. He sighed. He needed sleep.

Once Troy went pack into his Mansion and shut the door Gabriella quickly got out of the bushes and ran back to her house.

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The next morning she decided that she would go on this date with Troy, what could happen?

But she suddenly felt nervous, this was the biggest event of the year she was going to, and she had nothing to wear. She quickly went to her phone and called best friend, Sharpay Evans.

Sharpay Evans had just managed to put her twins to sleep, when her oldest child, Meagan walked in with the phone in her hands.

"Mommy it's Gabi.. she sounds worried."

Sharpay laughed to herself, Gabriella worried? Never..

She picked the phone up and brought it to hear ear.

"How are you stranger?"

"Sharpay, I am in need of some serious fashion help." Gabriella blurted out.

Sharpay looked at Meagan she was right, Gabriella did sound worried.

"What's going on?"

"I met a prince, I mean a literal, physical prince, and I'm going to be his date for the Midnight Ball."

Sharpay covered her mouth to stop the laughter, and Gabriela carried on..

"I can't get out of it, he won't let me, so I need your help, I have no idea what to wear, or what even to look for." Gabriella said.

Sharpay uncovered her mouth.

"It's not a problem, I'll tell Zeke to watch the twins and I'll meet you in town? Okay?"

Gabriella was so thankful at that point. "Thank you, thank you so much Shar!"

Sharpay laughed. "It's what I'm here for, I'll see you in 20 minutes, okay?"

"Yes, thank again." And with that she hung up.


	3. Date From Hell

When I met up with Sharpay she was still trying to hold in the laugher, I tried to just ignore it though.

Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. "It's not funny, I'm in way over my head here."

Sharpay stopped laughing and wrapped her arms around me. "No, you're not. You're a beautiful woman, and I can see why this prince asked you out."

I laughed at that. "Gee, thanks Sharpay."

She laughed back at me.

"Okay, I'm going to give you the biggest day of pampering so that your prince will never forget you."

Gabriella shook her head, not knowing if that was a good or bad thing.

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The first stop was the beauty parlor. Where an army of woman brushed, cut, curled, and teased my hair into stunning perfection. Then next, we went from shop to shop, looking for the right outfit, and there were many to choose from.

One dress I tried on was a creamy brown color, like caramel with lots of ruffles on the bottom, so it was very puffy, and the top part was covered in squints. It was beyond gorgeous, but just not for me.

And then I tried on a pink one, a green one, and a white and black one. All not for me. Don't get me wrong, they were all gorgeous, but I kept on seeing something wrong with each and every one of them.

I was just about to give up when Sharpay dragged me to one last store, it was an Antique boutique and everything was beautiful in the store, I was in complete awe at everything I saw.

While browsing the isles I came across a blue, and silver one. I immediately grabbed it and ran into the dressing room. I tried it on and looked at myself in the mirror, it was perfect. The shimmering gown had sparkling beads and sequins on the front and back of the top part, with a classic bell shaped skirt.

It was _**beautiful.**_

I couldn't help but feel like a servant girl turned into Cinderella, or even better yet, an ugly duckling turned into a Swan.

"I can do this." She told herself.

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"You can do this." Troy reminded himself. "You are the prince of Fioria, and she is just another woman." Troy shook his head and exited his bedroom.

Gabriella paced back and forth in her house. What if he changed his mind? What if he didn't? What if she messed this up, but then again what if everything went right. Suddenly the doorbell rang. She took a deep breath and put a smile on, which disappeared once she opened the door.

Will stood at the doorstep, not Troy. He offered Gabriella his hand.

"For security reasons, I'll be escorting you to the limo, where his highness is waiting."

Gabriella shook her head. This was silly. It was less then a mile from the limo to her door. Did they really think a sniper would take him out within that time?

"It's possible." Will said, reading her thoughts.

Gabriella didn't know why, but the whole thing got to her, she looked at Will.

"Usually, when I have a date, he picks me up at the door, not their henchmen. If his highness can't do that, then I don't see why I should even go out with him." She then slammed the door.

She ran to the couch, curling into a ball. She really blew it. Just as the tears were starting to come, another knock came at the door.

Gabriella got up mumbling. "If that aide doesn't leave me alone.."

The thought died when she opened the door and saw Troy's flawless face.

"I believe you wanted me to escort you to the limo." Troy said with a smile.

Gabriella just nodded, and he offered his hand. She placed her hand in his and the contact was like being struck by lightening, straight to the heart.

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The party was indeed amazing. The whole moment set the tone for the evening. Troy was always watchful, always taking care of her needs. If her wine glass ran low he had it refilled. If there was something she didn't like he had it replaced. **Her** needs came first.

Soon the orchestra began to play and people moved from their seats to the dance floor. Troy turned to Gabriella and whispered.

"Dance with me."

Gabriella simply nodded and stepped into his arms. It was like stepping into a different would as Troy wrapped his arms around her. She couldn't stop her body from melding into his. He felt warm, comforting.

Troy inhaled her scent. Again, she smelt like flowers.

"You smell incredible." He whispered into her ear.

Gabriella smiled, she didn't have the heart to tell him that she forgot to put perfume on. She simply leaned closer and rested her head on his shoulder.

Somewhere in the background the orchestra played, "Some Enchanted Evening."

Some enchanted evening, you may see a stranger  
you may see a stranger across a crowded room,  
an' somehow you know, you know even then,   
that somewhere you'll see her again and again!

Some enchanted evening, someone may be laughing  
you may hear her laughing across a crowded room,  
an' night after night as strange as it seems  
the sound of her laughter will sing in your dreams! 

Who can explain it, who can tell you why,  
fools give you reasons, wise men never try!

They continued dancing on the dance floor even when the music faded out. They danced creating their own music, their own magic.

People began to mumble. Some gave them curious glances and still the couple danced lost to all around them. Finally the mumbles, started to bother Troy a little. He slowly released Gabriella's body, and after looking around at the smirking faces, Troy mumbled, "to hell with it." And grabbed Gabriella's arm and led her outside.

And he did what he wanted to do sense the first day that he met her. He kissed her. First, it was a slow, passionate kiss, then it deepened into something that tore at his very soul. He moaned, wanting more. So much more.

Gabriella pressed into him, never wanting to let him go, wanting more. Her hand traveled to his chest, and slowly, very slowly she began to unbutton his shirt, as he pulled her closer.

Minutes later they stood, shaking and looking into each others' eyes. As their minds and bodies tried to recover.

"Wha.. wha... What just happened." Gabriella managed to stammer out.

Troy, who still couldn't speak, shrugged his shoulders. Then he shook his head. So this was true love. He had been in love before, but not like this. This was pure. He reached out to caress his lover's cheek, and that was when she saw it.

Gabriella's body froze when she stared at the tiny scar on the inside of his wrist. It looked as if someone burnt a rose, a black rose, on the inside of his wrist. She couldn't control her body as it started to shake with fear.

He was one of them, her prince, was one of them.

She let out a high pitched scream before she turned to run away.

She ran, even though everyone was staring at her, confused. And even though Troy kept calling her name. She fled the whole time thinking, "Her prince was one of them."

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**Hope you guys liked! This one took a long time to write. But it was totally worth it.**

**Please Review, I haven't gotten many reviews on this one! And the link to the picture of Gabi's dress she wore is in my Profile Area! **

**Xoxo**

**Lauren**


	4. Leaving Town

"**Reporter Deserts Prince**,**" **the headlines read in papers across the world the next day. Troy sighed and slowly rolled up the newspaper.

"I need to talk to her."

Will gave him a puzzled look. "Why? She doesn't deserve a second chance."

Troy closed his eyes, exhausted. He hadn't slept sense the incident, and every time he tried to sleep he saw Gabriella warm, and willing, then scared and terrified as if her worst nightmare had come true.

"You don't know what happened outside." He told Will.

Will arched his eyebrows. "What happened?"

Troy blushed and Will's lips formed a silent "oh." Troy blushed again, then he jumped up and ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

"She was with me," His voice was quiet as if he didn't believe the words themselves. He spun around. "She looked at me as if.. as if.. I was pure evil."

Silence passed between the two, and Will shrugged. "Then go talk to her. Get her back. I will return to Fioria and take care of.." He hesitated "I will take care of **our** father."

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Back at Fioria, his Majesty Arthur Bolton read the paper for the fifth time that day. He pounded the table with his fist sending all the servants, except one, rushing from the room. Viola Wakefield stood where she stood the whole time, ignoring his temper.

"Why does he insist on getting involved with those who are lower than him!"

Arthur said knowing that Viola stood behind him without really looking.

"First Gloria and now this reporter.. this woman."

Viola neither nodded nor gave any indication that she heard Arthur. She stood like a statue behind him. Arthur smiled. "Why can't he get it into his head that women like them.." He paused and turned to look at Viola. "Woman like you, should be used, and discarded, nothing more."

"Isn't that right, dear." He said touching Viola's face. Her hands clenched in a fist, but still she didn't move or flinch. Arthur noted her resistance with a smile. Even after all these years and giving him a son, she still looked so young.

He kissed her cheek, and he felt her shiver. She always loved his touch. He lowered his voice to a whisper.

"You know dear, all you have to do is return to me, and I'll treat you like a queen."

He removed his hand to caress her lips and felt her weaken a bit as she moved her body closer to his. He lowered his face to kiss her, but she pulled back. "Witch." He snapped before storming out.

Viola forced her shaking body to return to her duties. There was a time when she loved him more than anything, saw hope in him, even after he discarded their son, and turned Will into a high-class servant.

But her love for him died when Will turned five, he took another woman as his wife and they had a son together too. She couldn't deny Troy's existence, especially after his mother died giving birth to him.

When she was about to die she made Viola promise to raise Troy the same way she raised Will.

Viola promised, and has kept that promise to this day. Viola raised Troy to show compassion for those less fortunate, but his father wanted to raise him in the vain of evil.

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It had been a week sense Gabriella ran out on Troy, she spent her time locked in her room not eating or speaking.

"Please let me in Gabi." Sharpay pleaded from the outside of her door.

After a while of just standing there and Gabriella not responding Sharpay sighed loudly.

"I don't know what kind of man could hurt someone so badly."

And with that Sharpay turned and walked out of Gabriella's house.

Sharpay's voice awakened Gabriella from her troubled sleep. She struggled to get up and felt the verge of tears forming. She had been crying and sleeping for days and she couldn't seem to pull herself out of it. The only other time she had hurt this badly was when she woke to find her mother missing.

She stood, hoping to shake herself out of it. She was a fool, a stupid fool for giving her heart to one of them. There it was, the symbol burnt into his wrist, burnt there to prove his superiority over others, burnt there to show that he was a God among men, burnt there to show he was a Dark Knight. She thought of all she knew about the evil society, the powers they carried, the things they were capable of, the things they did to their victims.. a clean slice to the neck.. and as the victims blood flowed out, the Knight's blood grew stronger. She began to cry again.

Gabriella decided a warm bath would help clear her mind. She needed a calm, understandable manner to plan her next move, decide where to go. She hadn't been to work in over a week, and even if she still had her job she couldn't go back. She knew that he would be there.

Thoughts of Troy made her cry once again. How could she have been so silly? Even worse were they on to her? Did they know that she witnessed the so-called disappearance of the murderer Lord, Manely, and now needed to make her disappear?

Even though the water was warm, she trembled. She had to disappear, become another person and start a new life. She had done it so many times before. Except this time she was leaving friends.

The tears started again.

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Two days later the waiting cab stood idle as Gabriella prepared to say goodbye to her friends. Sharpay was the first to hug her.

"Why won't you tell me where you are going?"

Gabriella sighed. "Because I don't want you to lie when he comes looking."

"How do you know he will come?"

"I just know.." Gabriella replied. "It's the same way you what Zeke will do. I know he will come."

After a final round of goodbyes, Gabriella turned to enter the cab, but froze when she looked up and saw Troy emerging from his car. They gazed at each other, and for a moment Gabriella thought of giving into the pleading look she saw in his eyes. Then she remembered who and what he was and jumped into the cab.

As the cab drove away, Troy cursed the traffic that delayed him. A few seconds earlier she would have been his. He sighed and turned to the people behind him.

"Where is she heading?"

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**A/N: Hehe, sorry to end you guys there! Will Troy and Gabi ever be together again? And what is up with these 'Dark Knight' people? **

**Xoxo**

**Lauren**


	5. Your First Victim

Everyone just stood there in silence. They too wanted to know where she was headed to.

Troy ran a hand through his hair. "Please, there is a misunderstanding. I don't know why she is running."

Something about the dark circles under Troy's eyes, his unshaved face, reminded Zeke of the time Sharpay ran away from him. Not because she was in any physical danger, but because she was scared of the love she felt for him.

Zeke spoke up. "Why, should we help you?"

Troy looked at Zeke, and he suddenly felt like a 16 year old on his first date. Troy lowered his head and slowly mumbled. "I love her."

His voice was just above a whisper, but Zeke heard every word. He smiled. "Why don't we go inside?"

Once they entered the house Sharpay, Zeke, and Troy all took a seat in the living room area. Sharpay was the first to speak up.

"So what exactly happened between you and Gabi?"

Troy once again, blushed. What was with everyone who wanted to know what happened between them?

"Forgive me, but that is between Gabriella and myself."

Sharpay covered his face and started to giggle.

"What do you want from us?" Sharpay finally spoke up.

Troy shifted in his seat.

"Where did she go?"

Sharpay sighed, shaking her head. "Gabi refused to tell us because she thought that you would come after her."

Troy put his face in his hands and sighed. "Do you know any friends, relatives, that she might have run to? What about her mother?"

Once again there was silence. "Gabi's mother is.. dead.."

Troy looked at them, puzzled. The investigator he hired told him that Gabriella's mother is very much alive.

"Why do you think her mother is dead?"

Sharpay sighed loudly before she spoke.

"When Gabriella was a little girl, she and her mother were in their apartment one night, when someone broke into their apartment. Gabi's mother, locked Gabriella into a closet for her protection. When all of a sudden Gabriella heard her mother scream, she ran out to see a man standing there, he had a knife with jewels on it, her mom was nowhere to be found."

Sharpay shook her head and cried into Zeke's shirt, and he wrapped his arms around her.

"Gabi said it was as if he gained strength from watching her die."

Something about the sliced neck and the whole thing caused Troy to look up. Could it be? No.

He pulled his coat jacket down a little further to cover the mark on his wrist, then shook his head, trying to focus on what Sharpay was saying.

Sharpay wiped her tears from her eyes, trying to get all the running mascara off her face.

"Gabriella spent all her time trying to find her mother's killer, and turns out his name was Lord Jacob Manley, a citizen in this area."

Troy's head popped up again, the name Manley sounded familiar, too familiar. "Was he ever caught?"

Sharpay shook her head. "He just sort of disappeared."

Sharpay cuddled up to Zeke a little further.

"The cops found a cemetery that was on his property filled with women who all had their necks sliced open, but Gabriella said that he was gone, for good."

After listening to Sharpay's story Troy said goodbye and left. Once he was outside his smile disappeared, he suddenly remembered who this Lord Manley was.. he was one of the Dark Knights, he was removed. Another thought came to him, if Gabriella told Sharpay that Manley was gone, then it was a possibility that she knew who or what he was, and therefore, she knew what Troy was, and that's why she ran. The thought sent his pulse racing. If Gabriella knew about the secret Dark Knights then she was a threat and had to be taken care of.

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A week later Troy found himself sitting inside Anna Montez's living room. As he looked around at the chipped wall, dirty floor and torn furniture, he had to agree with his dad that people like Anna, Gabriella's mom, didn't deserve a place in this world.

He put on a fake smile and forced himself to look at her. Maybe at a younger age, Anna had Gabriella's

beauty, but now she looked like an old woman that relied on makeup to keep her young. And while her figure still possessed curves, thinking of the number of men that used that body filled Troy with disgust.

"Your daughter thinks you are dead." Troy explained.

Anna crackled. "That one always had an active imagination, and who did she think killed me?" She crackled again.

"I suppose she blamed Tim, he had a habit of getting a little rough and she always got in the way. Eventually I had to choose between him and her, and well, I never wanted her in the first place."

Troy's smile started to fade, but he quickly recovered, and she rambled on.

"It's not like she couldn't survive. She had a strong streak in her, that one."

Troy's hand curled into a tight fist. Survive? His report showed that Gabriella's first foster father raped her, stealing her virginity, followed by a series of foster fathers wanting to be lovers, and foster mothers who believed the belt was the only way to discipline. Gabriella finally rebelled at 16, stabbing one of her foster fathers. The man survived, but Gabriella spent her time in and out of juvenile hall. Does this woman call that survival?

Anna turned to Troy. "You say she is a reporter now?"

Troy nodded, his heart pounding against his chest. This woman needed to bleed. She needed to feel the pain she put others through.

Troy grabbed her and she screamed. Her single scream echoed throughout the neighborhood, but no one came running. Even if they did, Will guarded the door.

Minutes later Troy walked out and Will looked at him. "Do we need to clean up anything?"

Troy shook his head, then smiled. "I think I know where to find her."

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The Dark Knights gathered together, this was one of their meetings. They payed their respects to their leader. The head, they called him, approached a young man in black. The young man was about to enter the Knighthood.

"You wish to join our world?"

The man nodded and the Head handed him a picture of Gabriella.

"She is your first victim."

The man took the picture and turned to leave, but the Head called out to him. "Understand this, failure isn't an option."


	6. Blackness

The Ship had just docked to take on new passengers. Gabriella watched them board without really seeing those before her. Taking a cruise around the world has always been a dream of hers, even as a little girl, but here she was and she was miserable.

A particular passenger caught her eye, a young man with blonde hair and blue eyes. He was handsome, but it was the way he stared at her without blinking that made her uncomfortable. There was a coldness

to him that made her shiver. She shook her head and told herself that she was being silly before heading back to her room.

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Hours later as it started to get dark out. Troy and Will boarded the ship. Anna's minor comment about Gabriella taking a cruise stuck with Troy, and a quick search from a private investigator showed that this cruise was the only one that left on the same day Gabriella fled.

"Tomorrow we search the ship and see if she is aboard." Troy said. "If that fails, and the ship personnel still refuse to give out her room number, we will break into their records and get it."

Will nodded and the two headed to their room.

Early the next morning Troy and Will began their search. While in the game room, Troy noticed a blonde blue-eyed man, who also looked like he was searching for someone. Something about the man looked very familiar, but he couldn't place the face. He shrugged and continued his search.

However the man's face stayed with him and hours later while searching the lobby of the ship for about the fifth time, Troy paled as he suddenly remembered the young man, the recruit. He turned to Will.

"Forget the search. We need to get to the ship records and get her room number now."

Later, after spending much of her day inside her room, Gabriella took her usual spot on the balcony. Her mind drifting to Troy. She hadn't realized that she was crying, until a young man handed her a tissue.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

Gabriella spun around. It was the same blonde guy she saw boarding the ship. He still frightened her, but she told herself to relax. "Yeah, I'm fine."

He smiled. "Sorry, but I wouldn't call a beautiful lady crying all alone, fine."

Gabriella shook her head. "I am fine really." She forced a smile. "I think I will head back to my room."

In a fast move, the young man bowed to kiss Gabriella's hand. "Allow me to escort you pretty lady."

Gabriella couldn't help smiling. She supposed he was harmless enough. "Sure, why not."

Will lost count of the number of times Troy paced back and forth in front of Gabriella's room.

"You need to calm down. You will scare her."

Troy ran a hand through his hair. "I will scare her no matter what I do."

Just then Gabriella turned the corner. She saw Troy and froze. Troy saw the young man whom he had dubbed as the recruit and lost all of his calmness. "Leave now." Troy told the man.

His voice was low, but it had the impact of a winter blizzard.

Gabriella grabbed the young man's arm. "Please don't go." She turned to Troy. "You leave."

Troy looked between the young man and Gabriella. He could hurt him, but now wasn't the time. However, he wasn't going to leave Gabriella alone with the recruit. "Go inside." Troy said turning to Gabriella.

She considered her options then ran inside.

Once inside, Gabriella collapsed to tears.

Outside, Troy approached the young man. He showed him the mark on his wrist.

"I know who you are and why you are here. Walk away. She is mine for personal reasons."

The man studied Troy. "If you are who you really say you are, then you know failure isn't an option for me."

Troy nodded to Will to guard the hallway. He then pressed his body into the young man, pushing the tip of his blade against the young man's chest. He lowered his head and whispered.

"Walk away or it ends here for you."

The man nodded and walked away. Troy turned to Will.

"We will take turns guarding the door, sooner or later she has to come out, and if all else fails we will go in and get her."

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As the days passed, Gabriella kept herself locked up in her room, taking all her meals there. Every time she opened the door, Troy or Will stood outside.

Will usually just nodded to her, while Troy tried to talk to her. She usually slammed the door in his face.

The mysterious recruit seemed to have disappeared.

Finally after days at sea, the ship docked at a port. Gabriella peeked out in the hallway and for the first time saw no one, no Will and especially no Troy.

She didn't even stop to think why. She just ran until she was off the ship.

Troy and Will watched and waited until she was a good distance away before following.

It wasn't long before Gabriella's intuition told her that she was being followed. She should have known it was too easy to escape the ship. She looked around but saw no one. She sighed and turned into a deserted corner. There had to be a showdown sooner or later. But she would be the one with an advantage. She studied martial arts for a reason.

The moment Troy turned the corner Gabriella threw him to the ground.

"I will not make this easy for you."

Will moved to him, but a nod from Troy stopped him.

"There are things you don't understand and my options are limited." Troy said as he got up and dusted himself off. He also laughed amused that she had gotten the better of him.

"You are an amazing woman Gabriella.." Troy said moving closer. "It's too bad..."

Gabriella backed away. "Stay away."

Troy laughed and moved closer. "There is no escape, and even if you made it past me."

He pointed to Will. "He would finish what I started."

He continued moving forward until, there was no place for Gabriella to move. She reached out to flip him again, this time trying to make some real damage. But he surprised her, she felt only air.

She landed on the ground hitting her head, and her world began to spin, and through the haze, she saw a glint of steel as he knelt beside her.

She cried out as the blackness overcame her.

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**A/N: Is this really the end? Is Troy truly evil? Find out next time! **

**Oh yeah, please Review!**

**Xoxo**

**Lauren**


	7. Complete Story

**A/N: Okay, I need to clear the air here. I know most of you don't really understand why Gabriella's mom was still alive and how Gabi knew about the black knights. Well here is your answer.**

**Gabriella only heard her mother scream when she was in the closet, she didn't see anything. So when she came out of the closet all she saw was the man holding the knife with Jewels on it. (This knife is special because every Dark Knight has one). So Gabi's mother's ESCAPED the Dark Knight. But Gabriella thought that she died. So she dedicated her time to finding out who the killer was, and her key was the knife. And she found out all about the Dark knights. And that is how she knew about Troy and the mark on his wrist. Do you follow me now? Hopefully so. **

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Gabriella woke to the sound of voices and immediately recognized Troy's. "Are you sure she is okay? She has been asleep for days."

"She has a minor concussion," said another male voice. "Give her time."

"I will never forgive myself if something happened to her."

The other man chuckled. "Well, you shouldn't have played so rough with her."

The rest of their conversation grew faint as they both walked outside.

Gabriella opened her eyes and the world slowly came into focus. Nothing looked familiar and she had the uneasy feeling that she wasn't in the United States anymore.

The room door opened and she spun around to see Will. He slowly approached her.

"You are awake. My brother will be relieved."

Despite the fact that her head ached and her legs shook, Gabriella stood her ground.

"Where am I?" She demanded.

Will grinned. "I can see why he cares for you. You are all fire. Not a lot of common sense, but certainly fire. You are in Fioria's Royal Palace."

Several emotions, fear, joy. Struck Gabriella all at once, but shock stood out. Fioria? Safe? How long had she been out? How did they get across the ocean without causing suspicions? A passport? More importantly why was she still alive?

"Two days, we have our ways and because he doesn't want you dead," Will answered reading her emotions.

Gabriella shot him a suspicious look, and he laughed. "You don't hide your emotions well." He turned.

"I will go get my brother."

Before she could stop him Will walked out.

She made the bed to past the time, but the longer she waited the more anxious she become. Fioria? He attacked her and took her to his home? For what?

She went to the bathroom to wash her face and her hands shook. What now?

When she returned to the room, Troy stood there, and she took several seconds to study him. He was truly a handsome man, but right now he looked exhausted, so much so that she touched his face. He moved to caress hers, exposing the mark on his wrist.

Gabriella pulled away. "Murderer!"

Troy sighed. "I promise that I am not and have never been a murderer."

"Then how..?"

"It's a long story, that began, I suppose on the day I was born."

Troy took Gabriella's hand and she took it willingly and he sat down on the love seat in the bedroom and began his story.

"I was born right here in this room. It was my mothers, and you are the first person to stay in it, since her death. She left this world the same day I entered it. On her deathbed, she made Viola, my father's mistress and Will's mother, vow to raise me as she would Will. I am told while pregnant she spent hours watching Will and Viola. She saw that even at five, Will had character. He was kind and caring, despite being the King's bastard son. She knew three things. One, she wanted me to grow up with similar character, two, my father had no such qualities, and three, Viola was the only one who could teach me to be a true prince, and eventually a wise and caring King."

Gabriella sat there, listening carefully to Troy's every word, surprised at what she was hearing. Troy took a moment to smile and her and he continued on with his story.

"Viola honored the vow and in addition to raising me as her own, she took me out in the community, away from the palace walls, so I would see for myself the suffering of others. In short, she taught me to care and open up my heart. But, meanwhile my father was trying to teach my the complete opposite. Every time I would question him he would remind me that I was a king's son, heir to a kingdom. Not only was I a prince, I was a God. During one of our outings, Viola took me to the home of a young mother, who had just lost her husband. The young woman couldn't pay her rent, and she and her young daughter, Gloria, were about to be put on the street. Even as a child Gloria was beautiful with the most amazing blonde hair and innocent blue eyes. It was because of her that I asked my father to give Gloria's mother a job at the palace. Surprisingly, he accepted."

"The three of us, Will, Gloria, and me, being the only kinds at the palace, became best friends. The garden was her favorite place, and we would spend hours tending the flowers with her. We were rarely separated and vowed to be best friends for life."

"Then puberty struck and skinny, tiny Gloria, blossomed into a beautiful young woman.

I would never forget the first time, I saw the grown-up Gloria. I had returned from summer break after my first year at college. I had just turned 19, and Will 24.

I was in the dining room with my father discussing my progress at college, and she walked in to clean the table. She is the reason I believe in love at first sight because the moment I saw her I knew I wanted her to be my wife."

Gabriella looked away, embarrassed and hurt. She was jealous of the mysterious Gloria? Did she still hold Troy's heart? Troy looked at Gabriella's flushed cheeks and laughed.

"Gloria is my past, you are my future. I love you Gabriella."

For the first time since meeting him, Gabriella allowed herself to admit the truth.

"I love you too, Troy."

Troy let out a breath, he didn't realize he had been holding and kissed her. At the end of the kiss they were both smiling. "I need to finish this," he said.

Gabriella shook her head. "It's okay. I believe you."

Troy smiled. "Thanks, but I need you to know the whole story. I need you to understand," he hesitated. "and not judge."

She nodded and Troy continued the story with Gabriella cuddled in his arms.

"That summer Gloria and I fell in love, or so I thought. Before leaving, I asked her to be my wife and vowed that once I finished college, I would make it official. What I didn't know is that during the times I was away at college, Will and Gloria grew very close, and he too loved her. She was rather clever really. She made me vow not to say anything to anyone, including my own brother, not until it was official. Will took a similar vow. On the very day that I took my last exam and knew that was degree was assured, I flew back home and told my father about my plans to marry Gloria. In fact, I made the news in front of all who were there."

"At first my father laughed. Saying that I wasn't thinking clearly and not to make Gloria my wife. I insisted that only Gloria would do. Again he laughed, saying that I would only marry a woman worthy of my name. When my father realized I was serious, he became very angry, telling me he would see her dead before I could marry her."

"I should have listened to him." Troy took a deep breath, and continued the story.

"What I didn't realize was during my argument with my father, Will had slipped out. He was just as much surprised with my news and went in search of Gloria. Then I found him with her, talking. I was about to approach them when Will shouted "Why does my baby brother think you are going to marry him?" Gloria replied, "That's... that's.. because I am." First there was silence that seemed to go on forever and Will said, "I thought you loved me?" She looked away and he sighed. Gloria said she did love Will and she didn't love me. But she said that I could give her the world, and she didn't want to live a life like her mother's."

"I couldn't take any more and I turned to walk away. I had won only because of my wealth and title. Then I heard her say. "I love you Will, and I always will, which is why I want you to be my first. It's the one thing I can give to you that Troy will never have."

That stopped me in my tracks. And I watched as they kissed. It broke my heart. But I stormed away vowing that they would both pay."

"After that I avoided both of them. All the time plotting my revenge. One night I passed Gloria's room and heard strange sounds coming from inside. I thought it was them making love and I stormed in to confront them. Some three years later, I still wished I walked in on lovers and not Gloria's lifeless body. There was blood everywhere, and it wasn't until I knelt down beside her did I realize that the killer was still in the room. I felt the impact to my head, and saw nothing but blackness. I remember hearing Will scream my name before my body hit the ground."

"I woke later to Will's sobs. He looked at me. "I killed him. There was no other choice."

We looked at each other, the man's dead body, Gloria's body, then back at each other. I knew the killer. Is name was Marcus, son to one of my father's closest advisers and a royal. Neither of us needed to say it. In the social ranking of things, which was how many viewed Will, killing a royal would demand the death penalty."

"To make matters worse my father chose that moment to make an appearance. He looked at the two dead bodies, at me and finally, Will. It didn't take much to figure out what he was thinking, and I knew he would do more to protect me than he ever would for Will. "He killed her, and I killed him." I said to my father. I owed Will that much."

"My fathers expression made it clear that he didn't believe me, but he saw an opportunity. We made a deal that night, I joined the Dark Knights and they made Marcus and Gloria's murders disappear. I later found out that Marcus was sent to kill Gloria, I wanted out then, but there is only one way to leave the society, so I stayed with a purpose In mind to meet the head, the supreme leader of all the knights."

Gabriella pulled Troy closer, sensing his hurt. "Why is the head so important?"

Troy smiled. "Let's just say, I hope to cut off the head, leaving the body to die."

Gabriella pulled away a bit. "You cannot kill the head."

"He assigned the hit on Gloria. He needs to pay."

Gabriella shook her head and pulled him back into her arms. "He will, but there has to be another way. We will figure it out together." She lowered his head to her lips and kissed him.

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**A/N: Hope you guys liked, and thanks for all the kind reviews so far. I love them all! Please continue with the reviews.**

**Xoxo**

**Lauren**


	8. Jennifer Ruiz

In one of Fioria's finest hotel rooms, the blonde blue-eyed recruit sat thinking over his options. How was he supposed to know that the man called Troy would give the woman protection in the royal palace. The place is so heavily guarded, there is no way he can get in, but he had to find a way, failure wasn't an option. A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.

He opened it to find two Dark knights at the door. He looked at them dressed in full uniform and fell to his knees. He had failed.

"Another knight took her," he tried to explain.

"Really," said one of the knights. "Who?"

"His name is Troy," the recruit rambled. "I believe he is the king's son."

The two knights looked at each other, then made their way to the recruit. He didn't even get to scream.

Much later after their work was done, the Knights met with the Head in his private office.

"I take it everything went as planned?" He said without turning to look at his two most loyal knights.

"Yes," they both replied.

The head smiled. "Good. You may go."

However, instead of leaving the two knights hesitantly hung around. The head looked at them.

"What?"

"The recruit said the woman is being protected by one of us, Troy."

The Head stood silent for a moment. No one could see or sense the fury burning within.

"Mention this to no one. His father will deal with it."

The two men nodded and left.

Arthur tightened his grip on the glass, shattering it, but nothing, not even the pain of glass sticking into his palm or the blood seeping from the numerous wounds could lessen his fury. Troy, damn him, and damn that woman. He brought her here, to their home, and for that he must pay.. but how.

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Troy wrapped Gabriella up in his arms, and carried her to the bed. Once she instantly hit the bed, Gabriella started to take off he pants, by undoing his belt buckle, and then sliding them down to his ankles. And he kicked them off in the process. He lifted up her shirt to reveal a black laced bra. Gabriella smiled as he gazed at her figure. She pulled him to be on top of her, and he cupped the right side of her face, kissing her passionately.

"You're beautiful, Gabriella." Troy said in a hushed tone.

Gabriella smiled as Troy lifted his shirt above his head to reveal a _full_ package. Damn, he had a gorgeous body. She placed a hand on his chest to and felt his heart beating fast, she knew he wanted this, and so did she.

"I love you Troy.." Gabriella said, gazing up at him.

"I love you too, Gabriella." Troy replied, brushing his lips to hers. But he suddenly pulled back from the kiss.

"Promise me that you'll marry me someday." Troy said, gazing into her chocolate brown eyes.

Gabriella laughed, this was completely unexpected. "I promise."

Troy smiled and leaned back down and kissed her again, they started to shed the rest of their clothing and they both laid there, naked, and sharing sweet kisses.

He slowly entered her, making her moan and gasp at first, feeling the pleasure rising to the surface.

"Oh.. Troy.."

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Arther took a deep breath, then picked up the phone. Murder, no matter how satisfying, wasn't the answer.. at least not yet. It would only push his son away. The easiest was to undo a woman's influence is to find another woman, and he knew just the woman. Besides, it was about time Troy met his fiancée.

Jennifer Ruiz sat reading a book when she heard the phone in the office next to her room ringing. As usual her heart skipped a beat. Would this be the day?

Her life changed at the age of 10. She was in her room playing princess, when her father walked in. He looked as if he had been crying.

"Jennifer," he said, "the king has chosen you out of all the royal women in Fioria to be wife to his son. It's a great honor."

She thought about it, but couldn't understand what it meant. "So?"

"It would mean you would be a princess honey, wouldn't that be nice?"

Jennifer smiled. "Really? A princess, a real live princess living in a castle and all?"

Her father smiled "Yeah, sweetheart in a castle and all." His smile disappeared. "But it means you would have to to leave here and live somewhere where they can prepare you to be a princess."

She suddenly stopped smiling and her bottom lip quivered. "But I don't want to leave."

He stood up and hugged his daughter. Sense his wife's death, Jennifer had become his life.

"I know honey, but you need to go, it's for the best."

She was sent to a building in the middle of nowhere. Nuns, some who took a vow of silence, become her new best friends. At first the only thing she did was cry, and nothing the nuns did comforted her, but eventually everything settled in for her. But when Jennifer was 16 her father committed suicide.

The first place she planned to visit when she got out, was her father's grave.

Finally someone picked up the phone, and then, there was a knock at the door.

Sister Margaret walked in. "It's time Jennifer. I'm going to miss you around here.

Jennifer smiled.

"You need to get to bed. You leave first thing tomorrow."

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Gabriella and Troy laid in the bed, both exhausted, and thrilled with what just happened between them.

Gabriella brushed away Troy's bangs out of his eyes and leaned up to kiss him, when she pulled back he had a smile on his face, that told her, that he was happy.

"I love you more than life itself.." Troy whispered into Gabriella ear, then gently kissed her ear lobe, sending a shrivel up her spine.

She ran her fingers through his hair and he continued to kiss her good spot.

"I love you too."

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**A/N: Hope you guys liked! This one was a wee bit short. So sorry about that.**

**Please continue reviewing!**

**Xoxo**

**Lauren**


	9. Who Is Jennifer?

Just as the sun peaked through the skies, a black limo pulled up. The person inside giggled like a child.

She had been that way for much of the eight-hour trip, gawking at the sights that whizzed by as the limo took her to the place that she would forever call home. Free, she was finally free.

Stepping out of the limo, she grinned from ear to ear. Home, especially the garden was beautiful, just like she always dreamt. Her eyes wondered to the second level of the house where a young man stood enjoying the rising sun. She gasped. The man bore a strong resemblance to Arthur. Even though he was darker, he had that same royal bearing. She grinned again. Wow, this was her prince. Her father was right. He was truly a handsome man. Suddenly, "her prince" looked her way and their eyes locked.

Jennifer found it hard to breathe. If the eyes are truly windows to one's soul, his was beautiful.

Lost in "her prince's" eyes, Jennifer didn't see Arthur approach, and he used the opportunity to appraise her. He chose well. Her features as a child indicated that she would be a striking woman and he was right.

"Jennifer!" The sharp, snap of his voice pulled her from her thoughts. First she looked at Arthur, but immediately remembered her place and lowered her head and eyes. Arthur smiled, they taught her well. She was what a woman is supposed to be: beautiful, with a great body.

He summoned a servant. "Put her in the pink room." The servant gave Arthur a questioning look before immediately obeying. Arthur grinned as he watched Jennifer and the servant leave. Oh, how he would love to be there when Troy's lover found her room with Jennifer in it.

Even though Jennifer thought it was Troy on the balcony, it was actually Will. He usually spent his mornings on the balcony watching the sunrise, he got the strange sensation that he was being watched. He looked down just as Jennifer looked up. Their eyes locked and he thought, "Wow."

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Troy pulled Gabriella to him. "I love you."

"I love you too," Gabriella replied. They kissed, a long passionate kiss and Troy groaned.

"I have to get going. I have a lot of work today."

Gabriella held onto him and kissed him again. "Nobody is saying you have to do it now."

Troy smiled and leaned in and kissed her again, slowly slipping her shirt above her head and lifting her up on the bed, Gabriella replied by unbuttoning his shirt, her fingers brushing against his skin with every button.

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Later, much later, as Gabriella made her way down the hallway to her room, she suddenly felt out of balance and had to stop to gain back her strength. "Wow," she thought. "There seemed to be some lingering after effects from the concussion."

Troy, who finally made it to his office, looked at the notes from his father and smiled. So Arthur wanted a fight. He fingered through the notes. That was okay, because for the fist time in his life, Troy had the upper hand.

Despite her shaky composure, Gabriella made it back to her room without fainting, only to find it occupied by another woman.

Jennifer looked at Gabriella and immediately burst into a smile.

"Hi, I am Jennifer Ruiz, the prince's fiancée." She offered her hand to Gabriella. "You are?"

Gabriella looked at Jennifer's outstretched hand, then her eyes slowly traveled from the top of Jennifer's brunette head down to her silly shoes, all the way back to the top of Jennifer's head again. She then spun around and stormed out the room. Troy had a lot of explaining to do.

Somewhat puzzled Jennifer watched the girl storm out of the room, looking furious. She then shrugged and decided not to let it get to her. Instead, she would put her energies into exploring her new home.

Will was out by the water fountain In the garden, he thought of it as his "relaxing place." When all of a sudden he heard a female voice exclaim, "Oh!"

Will's eyes fluttered open to see Jennifer, she was even more prettier up close.

Jennifer looked at Will and her smile spread to both corners of her cheeks.

"Good morning, your Royal Highness." she then stopped and shook her head. "That's silly, me calling you by your title. I am your fiancée after all."

Arching one of his eyebrows, Will looked her over in much the same way Gabriella did a few minutes ago. "Really?"

Jennifer moved closer, offering Will her hand.

"Hello Troy. I am Jennifer Ruiz, your future wife."

Fighting the urge to enclose his hand in her oh so tiny palm, Will shook his head.

"I am Will, Troy's older brother and Arthur's bastard son. I am afraid I have no title, and no wealth to offer you."

He then turned and left Jennifer standing there gawking.

It took awhile before she lowered her outstretched hand. Not her prince? That's impossible. She didn't even realize she was crying until a salty tear touched her lips.

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Troy struggled not to laugh as her listened to Gabriella ramble. Her words ran together and the only thing her could make out was fiancée.

She suddenly stopped and looked at him. "Well, what do you have to say for yourself?"

Troy shrugged. "The only fiancée' I have is you. That's if you will be my wife?"

She smiled. "Really? You want to marry me?" She then shook her head and began to pace.

"And what exactly do you plan to do with your other fiancée?"

Troy threw his hands up in frustration. "What other fiancée'? You are the only woman I've asked to be my wife."

"Then who is the brunette?"

"That's what I would like to know," said a voice at the door.

Troy and Gabriella spun around to see Will staring at them. He looked from Gabriella's angry face to Troy's confused one and shrugged.

"Sorry to barge in on a lover's quarrel, but I have the same question." He turned to Troy.

"Who is the very, lovely young lady that just introduced herself to me as your future wife?"

Troy took a deep breath. "I don't know." He spoke slowly, like a teacher speaking to two very tiring children.

"Her name is Jennifer," Will said, as if that would clarify the matter.

Troy looked from one to the other and shrugged.

"Take me to her." Will nodded and the three of them went in search of Jennifer.


	10. Don't Harm Gabriella

Once in her room, Jennifer fell on the sofa crying. "Could this day get any worse?" She shouted to the empty air. A loud knock that shook the very frame of the door was her answer.

First she looked at Will, reliving her disappointment. Then she moved to Gabriella, who she still couldn't figure out, and finally she looked in the coldest pair of blue eyes she had ever seen.

She stepped back somewhat frightened. No! The cold stranger couldn't be her prince?

"Troy?" She asked hesitantly and the stranger nodded. Sighing she reached out to shake his hand.

"Hi, I am Jennifer Ruiz, your --"

"Don't you dare say fiancée," Troy snapped.

"But that's what I am," her voice wavered. "Your father chose me for you."

Unable to take anymore, Gabriella ran away. Troy turned to chase after her, but Will stopped him.

"I will go after her. You need to take care of this." He pointed to Jennifer who once again had tears streaming down her face.

Troy's stoic expression was too much for Jennifer and she turned away.

"I'm not wanted, am I?"

Silence.

"It's because of her.. that.. that..."

Troy cleared his throat. "Choose your words wisely."

His defense of Gabriella was more than Jennifer could take and she began pacing around the room, yelling at the air.

"Father promised. He said our sacrifice would be worthwhile. He said.. he said.."

She fell to the floor in tears, but when Troy tried to comfort her, she pushed him away.

"I HATE YOU." He allowed her to vent.

"Sixteen years, for sixteen years I have waited for you and you never wanted me. No one wants me."

Her tears flowed freely.

He knelt beside her. "Jennifer, look at me." She looked up and he wiped a tear from her face.

"You are welcomed here. You can stay, as a friend. Do you understand?" She nodded.

"Good, friends then?" He offered her his hand and, smiling weakly, she accepted.

After making sure she was okay, Troy turned to leave, but Jennifer called out to him.

"This room, it's hers isn't it?"

"Gabriella, that's her name, and yes this was her room, but it's okay. She will stay with me."

Jennifer shook her head. "No, she... Gabriella can have it. It's hers."

Viola walked by at that moment and Troy called her in.

"Mom, this is Jennifer. She needs a new room."

Viola smiled. "Where would you like to go?"

Jennifer looked around. "Is there another pink one?"

For a second, Viola's smile disappeared, but she quickly regained her composure. Yes, there was another pink one, but it hadn't been used in years. She looked around. But neither was this one, and now it's opened up to new life. She should do the same for the other room. She looked at Jennifer.

"I know just the place to put you," she said smiling.

Walking into the room was like stepping back into the past for Viola. Arthur had this room decorated just for her, but that was a long time ago, before his first kill. She shook her head.

It was time to give it new life. "Do you like it?"

Jennifer looked around and squealed. "I love it."

Viola smiled. "Good." She turned to leave, but Jennifer stopped her. "Why does Troy call you mom?"

Again Viola smiled. "Because I raised him, and when he was very little he heard Will call me mom and decided he would, too. He can be fairly stubborn when he has made up his mind about something."

Jennifer stared at Viola. This was Will's mother. She should have known. He had her eyes.

"You have a beautiful son.. I mean.. sons. Will is..."

She caught herself, just as Viola arched a brow, just like Will.

"Yeah, Will is something special," Viola said just before leaving.

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Instead of going directly to Gabriella, Troy decided it was time he and Arthur talked. He found him in the throne room.

"Father when will you stop meddling in people's lives? Have you any idea what you have done to poor Jennifer?"

Arthur smirked as he faced his son. "What, she isn't to your liking? Personally, I think she has more charm than that woman you are harboring."

Troy closed his eyes and counted to 10 before speaking.

"Her name is Gabriella and, be careful, because she is going to be your daughter-in-law."

"Like hell she will!" Arthur snapped. "I would --"

Arthur stepped back, but his eyes never left Troy.

"I will never do that."

Troy moved even closer. "Yes, you will, especially if you want our family to retain its hold on the crown."

"What does that mean?" Arthur said while stepping back once more, but again Troy moved forward, not allowing his father any breathing space.

"You can be replaced." Arthur's voice carried less conviction this time.

"Can I Father?" Troy asked. He didn't even raise his voice. In fact, he spoke in a whisper, but a frozen glacier carried more warmth than Troy's tone.

"You have managed to eliminate the only other Louver who could inherit the throne. Will wants nothing to do with you or the throne."

"I could have other kids," Arthur stammered.

Troy laughed and took a seat at his father's throne.

"Can you really Father?" Arthur looked at Troy in his seat, but said nothing. Easing back, Troy dared his father to look him in the eye.

"See, I have it on a good source that your sleeping around has.. gone down quite a bit." Arthur paled and Troy grinned.

"You can't have any more kids Father. I am it."

He stood up and spoke again. "Listen very carefully Father. If you want our family to hold onto the crown like it has for generations, Gabriella remains unharmed. If even the tiniest hair on her head is disturbed, I will walk away from you, Fioria, the crown. Our family line and heritage would die with your sorry death."

Arthur's body shook with rage as he watched Troy walk out of the room. He reached inside he inner coat pocket for the jeweled knife. One day Troy will pay for this, but for now he will settle for what he can get.


	11. Everything's Changing

"NO!" Troy screamed when he walked into the room and found Gabriella passed out on the floor. Pictures of Gloria's lifeless body haunted his mind and for a moment he thought that history was repeating itself. He knelt beside her at about the same time Gabriella stirred. Sighing with relief he pulled her into his arms.

"What happened?"

Gabriella looked around the room. "I'm not sure, I remember telling Will to leave me alone and everything sort of went black." She looked up at Troy. "Oh my, I think I fainted."

Later that night Arthur went into Jennifer's room and stood at the door for a second watching her get ready for bed. His son was a fool.

Suddenly realizing that she was being watched, Jennifer turned around, somewhat shocked to see Arthur.

"Oh, hi," she said nervously.

Arthur smiled. "I hear my son hasn't been very welcoming."

She blushed and looked away.

"You have to help him along my dear."

"But--"

Arthur shook his head. "It's all about the sex with that woman. You give him the same thing and I am sure he will forget her."

Again, Jennifer blushed. She didn't know the first thing about seducing a man, plus it obvious that Troy loved Gabriella. "I don't think --"

Arthur grabbed her by the hair. "Listen you fool, don't think, just obey. Seduce him, get him to marry you or it's back to the convent with you. This time to become a nun."

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It had taken Jennifer several weeks, four in fact, to work up the nerve to attempt any kind of seduction. Dressed in what she hoped was a suitably tempting outfit, she asked Troy to come to her room to discuss a problem. What she was going to do after that she had no idea.

Troy walked in and took one look at Jennifer and immediately put it all together. His eyes widened when she pulled Troy to her and smashed her lips into his. He struggled to break free from her tight grasp on his neck, he felt her fingernails dig into his skin. He finally pulled away, gasping for air.

"No, Jennifer." She pulled away embarrassed and hurt. Only then did she notice Gabriella standing at the door.

Jennifer looked from one to the other and fled the room crying.

She ran to her favorite place, the fountain, and collapsed in tears. She didn't even see Will standing across from her until he touched her on the shoulders.

"Jennifer?" She wrapped her arms around him and cried into his shoulder. In between sobs, she told him everything.

Will held her close and kissed her cheek.

"I have never envied by brother, but I envy him you," he whispered into her ear. "By the way, If I had to choose between you and Gabriella, I would choose you." He kissed her again before leaving.

Jennifer watched him walk away with the biggest smile on her face.

**The days and nights passed and as the wheels of time turned, the occupants inside found their lives taking unexpected turns.**

Each morning Viola spent an hour or two perfecting her make up, making sure that no one saw the scars, all for the sake of keeping the peace.

Jennifer spent her mornings, in fact most of her day, inside the palace library. It was also where Will spent his days. Coincidence? He thought not. He looked up over the computer to catch Jennifer staring at him. She quickly lowered her eyes, and he went back to working on the computer.

Upstairs, Troy watched Gabriella sleep. He wanted to crawl back into bed, pull her into his arms and forever keep her safe. She woke up unwell again this morning. Lately, it seemed like every morning she woke up, she made a mad dash to the bathroom, where she brought up all the previous nights content.

Will wasn't sure when she did it, but somewhere in the last hour, Jennifer ended up beside him. He didn't dare turn to look at her, besides her scent was already messing up his concentration. He stared harder at the screen in front of him, but it was beginning to blur. He turned and immediately decided it was a bad move because now her lips were merely inches from him. He reached out to caress her lips, and Jennifer kissed each of his fingers. He groaned and pulled back.

"I will not be a substitution for my brother."

Jennifer giggled and moved close enough to whisper into his ear. "You are second to no man."

She then kissed his cheek. "If I had to choose between you and Troy, I would choose you."

She got up to leave, but Will pulled her into his arms. "You mean that?" She nodded and he whispered, "Prove it. Marry Me?" Again she nodded. "I mean now, today."

Jennifer didn't even hesitate. "Okay."

Hours later the two stood smiling at each other in front of a pastor. Where they soon became husband and wife. As Will pulled Jennifer into his arms and their lips touched, the world disappeared.

After exchanging their vows, they went to visit Jennifer's father.

"Dad, this my husband Will. I know you chose someone different for me, but he is who I choose for myself. I hope you understand. Just know that for the first time in my life, I am happy, truly happy."

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Three months, had it really been that long, but then again it didn't seem long enough. She felt like she had know Troy a life time, but it had only been three months since their first date. Three months, in which she had said good-bye to some very good friends, ended up miles across the ocean and now _this_.

She rested her hand on her still flat stomach. A baby.


	12. Arthur's Plan

**A/N: Hey guys, I hope you are all enjoying this Series so far, I definitely am! Anyways I had someone ask a question, "Why was Troy acting so evil to Gabriella on the boat that one day?"**

**Well, to answer your question he was just fooling around with her in a sense, he didn't mean any of it. So don't worry, he isn't evil. **

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After saying goodbye to the doctor, Troy came back and knelt before Gabriella. He kissed her hands.

"Please tell me you are okay with this because I think it's absolutely great."

She smiled. "Really? Me too."

"Really." He moved to kiss her, but Jennifer and Will chose that moment to interrupt.

"We have news," Will announced.

Troy looked at his brother then at Gabriella. "So do we."

Will arched his brow. "Really?"

Troy nodded.

"Okay then, let's hear it."

Troy reached for Gabriella's hand. "You are going to be an uncle."

Will burst out laughing. "Well I guess that puts an end to the question of why you two always lock yourselves in this room for such long periods of time."

He laughed even more as he watched the coloring on both Troy and Gabriella turn to dark red.

"Okay, what's your news," Troy said looking from Jennifer to Will. His brows arched with interest as he watched them both blush.

Will pulled Jennifer to him. "We are married."

This time everyone laughed and offered each other congratulations. "We need to tell mom!" Both boys said laughing.

Viola squealed with happiness for both of her sons, a new daughter-in-law and a baby, but it came at a time when she had planned to tell them about Arthur's violence. Now, she would keep it to herself, and find another way out.

Arthur didn't take the news well. He smiled, sent them on their way, but once the door closed, he cursed them all. Damn, they were multiplying when he wanted them dead, including Troy.

If only, he could have another baby. Wait a minute. There was another baby. Granted its blood wasn't pure, but it was a Louver nonetheless. He paced back and forth, the idea growing with each stride. He would need help, but that wasn't a problem.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One day on a very dark knight, the Head called some of his most loyal followers into the inner chamber. He handed them each one pictures of Viola, Jennifer, and Will. "Kill them all," he said.

He then picked up a picture of Troy. "Wound him and take him to the chamber. I want to take care of him personally."

Finally, he picked up a picture of Gabriella.

"Restrain, but don't harm her, at least not until after the child is born."

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**A/N: Sorry this one is so short, but yeah, sorry.!**

**Xoxo**

**Lauren**


	13. Business Trip

Troy and Gabriella laid together in bed, Troy's hand resting comfortably on Gabriella's stomach. He kissed Gabriella's forehead repeatably. They had both been laying in the bed together for about an hour doing absolutely nothing but cuddling and whispering to each other. 

Troy was thrilled that his older brother had gotten married. But he was also a little shocked, he didn't even know that he was with Jennifer, until now.

"What are you thinking about?" Gabriella asked, her eyes closed with exhaustion.

Troy looked down at her and smiled, brushing some hair out of her eyes, causing them to open and meet his electric blue ones. 

"My brother, and the fact that he is married now." Troy told her.

Gabriella smiled. "Yeah, I was shocked too. I didn't even know they were_ that_ serious."

Troy nodded at her response. "Same here."

Gabriella turned her body to face Troy's, she slowly laced her fingers through his, and looked into his eyes, he leaned in and captured her lips in his, making a slow rhythm with their lips.

He pulled away and Gabriella snuggled up close to his chest, feeling his warmth. 

"Are you nervous?" Gabriella asked.

"Nervous of what?" Troy asked back.

"Having this baby, becoming a parent." Gabriella said.

Troy chuckled at that. "No, I'm excited, and I'm more than excited to have this baby with the only woman I've truly ever loved."

Gabriella looked up and smiled. "I love you Troy."

Troy brought a hand to her face and rubbed it gently. "I love you too."

Arthur chose that moment to barge in. Once he opened the door and walked in and saw Troy and Gabriella on the bed, laying close together, he scowled in disgust. How could his son love someone so different than him?

He cleared his throat to let them know that he was in the room. Troy and Gabriella both sat up, Troy wrapped his arm around Gabriella's waist in the process. He smiled at his father.

"Don't you knock, father?" Troy asked unpleased.

Arthur smiled. "I was going to but then I remembered that your lady over here is pregnant so you two can't be doing anything too serious."

Troy scowled. "How thoughtful." He tightened his grip on Gabriella's waist, showing her that he would protect her from his father's evil ways.

Arthur smiled at Troy's actions. "Anyways, I'm here to tell you that you have a business trip to go on."

Troy's smiled faded. "Now? Is it honestly necessary?" 

Arthur looked at his son, he looked so weak, so stupid. He couldn't wait to have him dead, and to have his child as the heir to their kingdom.

"Every business trip is necessary, son." Arthur corrected Troy.

Troy nodded, looking at Gabriella then back to his father, then back again.

"I can't leave Gabriella here alone, she's three months pregnant." Troy told his father.

Arthur put his hands up in reassurance. "Will and Jennifer will be here to keep her plenty company, and I could check on her every once and a while if you'd like." 

Troy tried to smile at his father's offer, but he knew for a fact his father had something up his sleeve, something bad. And he was just trying to get rid of Troy, so he would be out of the picture.

"Thanks Dad, but.. I think I'll just send her back to America. She can stay with close friends there, I don't want to have her stay here alone without me being here."

Arthur's fake plastered smile faded, but he quickly recovered. 

"No! I insist she stay here! She needs to get used to her surroundings and the palace if she is to be Queen of Fioria." 

Troy sighed and looked down. "Gabriella, which to you choose. Do you want to stay?"

Gabriella looked at Arthur who had the most scariest look on his face.

"Um.. Well, Troy. I don't want to cause you too much trouble sending me all the way back to America, I'll just stay. Jennifer and I could have some girl time."

Troy shook his head. "It would be no trouble sending you to America."

"It's okay baby, I'll stay." She laced her fingers through his, hoping to reassure him that she would be okay.

Troy nodded, running a hand through his hair. "So be it then. Father, may I talk to you in private?"

Arthur nodded, leaving the room, Troy kissed Gabriella and followed his father to a room next door.

He closed the door behind him so they could have some privacy.

"Father, if you hurt Gabriella, at all when I'm gone. I swear.."

Arthur put a hand up to stop him. "I would never."

Troy nodded. "Yeah, well. I'm going to have Will have a close eye on you the whole time I'm away, so don't even think about messing with her."

Arthur shrugged. "Okay, Troy. You better get packing your plane leaves in 1 hour."

With that he patted his shoulder and walked out of the room that they were in. Troy immediately went back into his and Gabriella's room and started to pack his things. When Gabriella emerged from the bathroom after vomiting up her breakfast.

"Your leaving already?" Gabriella asked as she slowly walked over to him.

Troy sighed and paused from packing to take a look at her, then he continued on packing.

"Yes, my father is being the usual bastard that he is."

Gabriella smiled slightly, and took a seat on the bed, watching Troy throw t-shirts and pants in his suitcase super quick. 

"What time you heading out?" Gabriella asked.

"My plane leaves in half an hour" Troy said and let out a huge sigh of impatience.

Gabriella grabbed his hand and rubbed her thumb over his knuckles, and smiled brightly at him.

"I'll be fine, you don't need to stress over this."

Troy smiled and kissed her hand. "I just really want to be there throughout your pregnancy."

Gabriella smiled. "I'm sure you won't miss much, just my hormones getting intense, and morning sickness. I'm not that far in my pregnancy you know."

Troy took a seat next to Gabriella. "But that's just it, I don't know when my father is going to let me come back."

Gabriella's smile faded. "He didn't tell you when you'd be back?"

Troy shook his head no, and he ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "I think that you should go back to America, it seriously would be best."

"Troy, I'll be fine. I'll call you five times a day. Updating everything." Gabriella said.

"Fine.. just watch out for my Dad okay? I don't want you to turn out like Gloria." Troy kissed her forehead and got up and zipped up his suitcase.

"I promise I'll watch out for him." Gabriella said in a teasing tone. 

Troy smiled and lifted his suitcase from the bed and carried it down the hall, down the flight of stairs and to the front door. And Gabriella followed.

Troy reached over and gave Gabriella a passionate kiss on the lips, and he bent down and kissed Gabriella's tummy. Making her giggle.

"I love you Gabriella." He said and he pressed his forehead to hers.

"I love you too Troy." Gabriella answered back. Closing her eyes to hold back the tears.

Arthur once again popped out of nowhere and interrupted Troy and Gabriella.

"Your plane is waiting, son." 

Troy nodded and kissed Gabriella once more. "Be Safe, Love you." Troy said.

"Love you." Gabriella said back.

Troy looked back once more than headed out the front door to the Jet plane that was in front of the house. He entered the jet through the stairs and he disappeared inside. He took a seat inside and waited calmly for the jet to get up and go.

Once the jets started, he felt the Jet slowly move into motion on the runway. He sat back closing his eyes, trying to clear all the bad thoughts out of his head.

All of a sudden he opened his eyes to find two Dark Knights standing in front of him, one hitting him over the head, knocking him out.


	14. Shh, Don't Stress

The two Dark Knights grabbed and dragged Troy's body into a closet on the plane and locked him in. They both knew he'd be awake soon. He was too strong, if he weren't so good he would have made a great Dark Knight, he would have made his father proud.

"When do we land?" One of the Dark Knights asked the pilot, who was also a Dark Knight.

"About 1 hour." The pilot responded. 

Both of the Dark Knights looked at each other and nodded, everything was going great so far.

Gabriella slowly made her way to Jennifer and Will's room. She knocked two times and Jennifer answered.

"Gabriella!" She exclaimed and hugged her tightly. "What brings you here?"

"I've been in my room all day, and I just needed to get out.." Gabriella said.

Jennifer nodded and opened the door a little wider so Gabriella could enter. "Missing Troy?"

Gabriella nodded fast and sat down on a chair that was in the living room area. "I've tried calling his cell 5 times but he won't answer, I'm worried that something happened."

Jennifer sat on a chair that sat across from Gabriella. "I'm sure he's fine. Probably too busy or caught up in business crap." Jennifer said with a smile.

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right.. I just love him so much, I don't want anything extremely horrible to happen to him." 

Jennifer smiled. "That's exactly how I feel about Will, if anything ever happened to him, I'd die."

Gabriella smiled at that. Will and Jennifer really were in love, even if they only knew each other for a little while, they really were crazy about each other.

"Where is Will anyway?" Gabriella asked.

Jennifer's smile faded to a straight line on her lips. "I don't know, he wasn't here when I woke up this morning, I thought he'd be back by now, but.."

"Let's go look for him." Gabriella stated, standing up.

Jennifer smiled. "Okay, thanks Gabriella." 

The two of them left the room and made their way down the flight of stairs and started looking for Will.

**Will's POV**

I was walking down the stairs, going to get breakfast for Jennifer when all of a sudden everything went completely black. I couldn't see and I tried to scream but no one seemed to hear.

So now I can see, I'm in a dungeon, it's pretty dark, the only light from a small window at the top of the wall. My legs, and arms are locked to the wall by shackles, I've tried screaming for help several times but no prevail. All I know is that something bad is in the works. And that something had something to do with Arthur.

**Back With Jennifer & Gabriella**

"Will!" Jennifer screamed at the top of her lungs. Both Gabriella and Jennifer had been searching for Will for the past hour. Jennifer was really starting to get worried. 

Jennifer stopped walking and turned to Gabriella. 

"We need to split up, it's the only way we'll find Will." 

Gabriella nodded. "Alright, you go that way, and I'll go the opposite, we'll meet up at the top of the staircase in 30 minutes."

Jennifer nodded in agreement and they both went there separate ways. 

**With Jennifer**

Jennifer walked into the library where Will and her would always spend their days together. He would always work on his laptop, and she would always search through the various books, searching for one that would catch her eye. She would always sit down beside him and read.

She ran her hand along the desk the two of them would always sit at. Her thoughts were suddenly awakened by the sound of someone screaming. It was coming from behind a bookcase in the library.

She slowly walked up to it, hearing the person screaming loudly. She pressed into the bookcase and she suddenly realized that it was turning around she was being brought into the dungeon. 

Once the bookcase turned around fully she saw Will, his whole body shackled to a wall.

"Will.." She breathed. Will lifted his head up, he looked exhausted, sweat was all over his body. Jennifer ran to him and hugged him tightly, kissing his chest repeatably. 

"What the hell happened to you?!" Jennifer asked.

Will took a deep breath before speaking. "I have no clue, one minute I was getting you breakfast, the next I was down here."

Jennifer turned pale, whoever did this to him was obviously going to kill him eventually, she was so happy she got to him in time.

"I got to get you out of here." She looked at the shackles and saw that they needed a key to be undone.

She searched around for something that could break them, but saw nothing, not even a single rock.

She quickly reached into her hair and pulled a pin that was holding her hair into it's position.

She stuck the pin into the key whole on the shackles and quickly undid one, and moved to the next undoing that one, then the rest.

Once Will was finally free he grabbed Jennifer and wrapped her up in his body.

"We got to get out of here, something bad is going on, and I have a feeling that Gabriella is in danger."

Jennifer nodded and led him to the wall that she come in through, she gently pressed against it and they both turned around, entering the library. They laced their hands together, going on a search for Gabriella.

**With Gabriella**

"Will! Where are you!" Gabriella screamed, she was searching through one of the many rooms in the palace. She kept searching every room possible and she eventually felt as if she was going in circles.

For some odd reason there seemed to be nobody working in the palace today, not one maid, not one butler. No one.

Gabriella started to get a scary feeling and started to run down the halls of the palace. She suddenly tripped over her robe she was wearing and landed on her stomach. She grasped her tummy tightly, she felt like she was in pain. 

"Ow." Gabriella moaned into the ground. She sat and slowly stood up to her feet. She turned around, feeling as if she was being watched. She turned to see Arthur, smiling at her.

"Oh.. Hi Arthur.." Gabriella said.

"I hope that fall didn't harm your baby there." Arthur said, smirking in the most evilest way possible.

Gabriella's hands met her tummy and she grasped her stomach. "No, I'm fine." Gabriella turned to walk away when she felt a hand go on her mouth. She screamed as loudly as she could but the hand muffled any sounds she could make.

"Shh.. don't stress we want the the baby, the next heir of Fioria to be as healthy as can be."

Gabriella's eyes slowly closed shut as she passed out.

**A/N: Hehe. Hope you guys like so far! This is basically when all adventure happens!**

**Whoo!**

**Xoxo**

**Lauren**


	15. Saving and Capturing

Arthur carried Gabriella bridal style down the halls, only to meet Will and Jennifer running down the halls, searching frantically for Gabriella.

"Arthur!" Jennifer screamed, nearly frightened.

Will took a step closer to Arthur, looking him straight in the eye. "I might be your bastard son, but that gives you no right to treat us like this, let her go."

Arthur gave a slight chuckle at that. "Fool, this is all I've ever wanted. You, Troy, and your skank of a wife. To be dead, and this baby that she's carrying to become the next heir of Fioria."

Will's hand clenched into a fist. "You'll never get away with it.. Troy.."

Arthur interrupted. "Will be dead before you know it."

Will froze. "You didn't send him on a business trip, did you? This is all an act. To kill us."

Arthur simply nodded. He stretched his arm to try to hit him over the head, but Will ducked, saving his ass. And when Arthur was at his weakest, he grabbed Gabriella from his arms. Her flimsy body was very light so it was easy. Will darted upstairs to his bedroom, Jennifer in front of him.

Will turned his head and saw Arthur was close behind. He picked up his pace and ran as fast as he could to the room. Jennifer opened the door fast and Will rushed inside, Jennifer closing the door fast as he entered and she locked it fast. Arthur instantly started to pound his fists on the door.

"Fools! I will kill you both anyway!" And with that Arthur's footsteps made their way to the opposite direction.

Will laid Gabriella on his bed, taking a seat on one of his chairs, taking deep breaths, trying to even out his breathing again.

"You okay?" Jennifer asked.

Will nodded. "Fine.. just, need to catch my breath."

Jennifer pointed to Gabriella. "Will she be okay?"

Will nodded. "He wouldn't hurt her, sense he needs her baby to be the next heir."

Jennifer nodded, sighing and took a seat on Will's lap. "We can't stay here forever, he'll come back, this time he'll get in."

Will nodded. "I know, I know.. we just need to think of a plan. We need to find out where Troy is first of all."

Jennifer moved the curtains of the window to look outside, seeing that the Jet that took Troy to his business trip had returned.

"Hey, the Jet is back.. maybe Troy is in there?"

Will got out of the chair, and looked out the window. "He is, he has to be."

Jennifer looked at him with glassy eyes, she knew what Will wanted to do.

"No.. No! You are not going out there!"

Will ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "I know, but what else could we do?!"

Jennifer shook her head and sat back down. "I'm not loosing you Will, I finally found true love, I don't want to loose you like I lost my father."

Will smiled gently and knelt before her, grabbing both of her hands. "I'll be safe, I promise. I'll be sneaky, no one will see me."

Jennifer sighed, leaning back in the chair. "I.." She took a deep breath. "You.. should go.."

Will smiled. "Thank you Jen, he's my brother, he's saved my ass millions of times. Now, it's my turn."

Will ran out of the room, looking both ways making sure no one was following him. He ran frantically once he knew the coast was clear.

Once he finally made it outside without being seen, he saw the jet. No one was in it. He knew because before he left him and Jennifer waited till everyone on the jet exited. He ran fast to the stairs of the jet and climbed inside.

Once he was inside he saw complete darkness, he searched for the light on the wall and flipped it on.

He searched fast through every compartment, every place he could think of that Troy could be in.

There was one last place he didn't look. The closet. He walked slowly to it, opening it slowly as well.

Once it was open completely. He saw, Troy. Tape on his mouth, rope on his arms and legs.

Once he saw Will his eyes widened with joy. Will worked fast to remove the rope and tape.

"You okay?" Will asked, helping Troy to his feet.

"I'll be fine, it Gabriella okay?" Troy asked.

"Arthur wants her baby, she's in my room with Jennifer right now, the door is locked but.. Arthur will try to get in, so we need to move fast."

"Wait.. why does he want _our _baby?" Troy asked confused.

Will sighed. "I'll tell you later, we really need to go now."

With that Troy and Will ran out the Jet, to the palace.

Jennifer sat by Gabriella. She had started to move a little, and she was moaning constantly. Jennifer had retrieved a damp washcloth and put it to Gabriella's forehead. Jennifer had to stop lying to herself, she was worried about Will. She just felt like it was the biggest mistake ever letting him go like that, Arthur could come by any time, and they would have no protection. Jennifer sighed, and continued to watch after Gabriella. When all of a sudden her eyelids started to move, slightly.

"Gabriella?" Jennifer asked, hoping to wake her up.

With that, Gabriella's eyelid fluttered open, looking straight at Jennifer.

"Where are we?" She asked looking around the room.

Jennifer smiled thankfully, pulling Gabriella into a tight hug. "Will's and my room, he's out looking for Troy.."

Gabriella pulled away. "What's wrong with Troy!"

Jennifer calmed her down. "He.. wasn't sent on a business trip, Arthur was trying to kill him.. he wants your baby, Gabriella."

Gabriella sighed and buried her face into her hands. "He's going to be, okay right?" She asked choking on tears.

Jennifer nodded. "I think so.."

She didn't even have time to finish her sentence, for a whole crowd of Dark Knights suddenly burst into the room. The head, standing in front.

"Well, well, well.." The head stated.

Gabriella rose to her feet and walked to Jennifer, who was obviously frightened.

"What do you want?" Gabriella said in a harsh, pissed off tone.

"Now, that's not a very nice tone of voice." The head said.

"Fuck off.." Gabriella said.

One of the Knights walked up to Gabriella, attempting to slap her hard across the face.

"No!" The head yelled. "She remains unharmed!"

The knight nodded, and stepped back.

The head motioned to Jennifer. "Take her to the dungeon, and Gabriella.. will stay with me."

**A/N: Sorry if there is grammatical/spelling errors in this one, I was moving at a fast speed. **

**And sorry for the delay. Lots of homework, once again. I'll try to update once more on this one this weekend and maybe once on Reunited.**

**Xoxo**

**Lauren**


	16. Doing It For Love

**A/N - So Sorry for the Delay!! Enjoy!**

--

Two Dark Knights surrounded Gabriella and Jennifer. Both of the girls looked at each other, frightened about what was going to happen to them. Suddenly one of the Knights grabbed Jennifer and threw her over his shoulder.

"Hey!" Jennifer screamed.

The other Dark Knight was just about to do the same when the Head stopped him.

"No, that wouldn't be good on her baby! Think before you act fool!"

The head scowled at the Dark Knight then headed out of the room. Instead of throwing Gabriella over his shoulder he simply held both of her wrists behind her back, forcing her to walk wherever he desired.

After a while of walking they finally arrived into what seemed like a hell hole. Everything was black and well.. dark. The only thing in the room that seemed to show color was the center of the room, a huge symbol was on the floor, probably the symbol the Dark Knights used.

The Dark Knight that was carrying Jennifer turned suddenly into the Dungeon where he chained her legs and arms to the wall. After he was done, the Knight slapped Jennifer across the face, which was for his own enjoyment.

When the Knight came back from the Dungeon the Head excused everyone from his office, leaving Gabriella standing in the center of the room.

"Gabriella.." He paused. ".. Montez..you're the one who has stolen the prince's heart?"

Gabriella simply gulped and her hands instantly found her stomach, a mother's instinct, to protect her baby.

The Head laughed. "No need to be worried. We won't harm you in any way, but for your friends.. I couldn't say the same." He smirked at the worry in her eyes.

"W.. What are you going to do to them?" Gabriella asked.

The Head stood up from his seat behind his old desk. "Well.. for starters I'll cut off their legs, leaving them to suffer the pain that was brought onto them, then maybe I'll cut every single one of their fingers..." He trailed off, seeing the horror in Gabriella's face.

He smiled, moving closer to Gabriella, he slowly put a hand under her chin.

"You my dear.. are a pretty one. Maybe, if you cooperate.. I'll make you the Head's wife.."

Gabriella grimaced from his offer, pulling back. The head chuckled.

"Whatever. It's your choice." He sat back in his chair, setting his feet up on his desk.

Gabriella stood there, watching the Head's every move. Wondering if Troy had survived whatever torture his father brought upon him. She closed her eyes as she felt a tear slowly roll down her cheek. She opened her eyes again to see the Head staring at her, smiling.

"Tears of Joy?" He asked, dumbly.

"No. Tears of Pain." Gabriella snapped.

The Head cleared his throat before he spoke. "Life is pain, Gabriella. You need to learn to live with it, and not fight it. It is what makes each and every single one of us humans unique."

"You're not human.. you're a monster!" Gabriella cried, taking a step back.

"That's where you're wrong, I'm completely human, I'm a human with a purpose."

Gabriella scoffed, this man was thinking way too much of himself. The sick bastard.

"You call _killing_ people, a purpose?" Gabriella asked.

The Head leaned back into his chair. "Yes. I do."

**With Troy & Will**

Troy ran a hand through his hair. "Damn, they got to her!" Will put a hand on Troy's shoulder and sighed. "Shit."

Troy paced back and forth in the room. "Okay, it's obvious that the Knights are involved in this, I mean they are the ones who attacked me in the plane."

Will nodded. "So.. you're saying?"

"We need to go.." He paused, dreading the words he was about to spit out. "See the.. _Head_."

Will shook his head. "Hell No! There is another way Troy, we just need to find it."

Troy sighed. "Will.. please. This is the only way! I know you want to get Jennifer back badly, but I want Gabriella back just as much."

Will sighed. "But it's not worth it. Risking our lives like that. It's stupid."

"We're not just risking them for anything. We're risking them for.. _love_."

Will's head suddenly popped up he slowly nodded, understanding where Troy was coming from. Both of them headed out of the bedroom, making their way to go see **The Head**.


	17. Shackled

Authors Note:

I'm so sorry, everyone. You all deserve a huge apology, I haven't updated on this story for about 3 months. :(

I feel very, very bad about this. But could you believe that for 3 whole months I've had writers block on this story? I'm serious. It was bad. I would come on the computer to write the next part and I couldn't think of anything, nothing at all. But like I said, I'm sorry.

--

Troy and Will slowly made their way down to the library, Will following Troy's every move.

"How are we supposed to get in?" Will muttered while running his hand along the wall of the bookcase.

Troy searched the bookcase frantically. "There is supposed to be a key around here, that triggers the hidden door."

Will nodded and joined in with Troy for searching for the hidden key.

**30 minutes later..**

Will sighed loudly. "This is worthless, Troy. Is there another way?"

Troy frowned. "No, there isn't. It's got to be around here somewhere!" He cursed under his breath silently.

Will frustrated, ran a hand through his hair and leaned against the bookcase, slowly, it began to shift.

Troy smiled. "Will, my brother. You found it!" Troy walked through the entrance.

Will smiled proudly. "Of course I did."

Troy and Will made their way down the extremely large tunnel, the closer they got the louder and louder the sound of people talking got. Finally, they reached a huge wooden door.

Troy slowly reached his hand up to push it open, but Will put a rough hand on his arm.

"What if it's a trap? What if they are waiting for us on the other side?"

"I don't give a damn, Will." Troy hissed. "The girl I love is on the other side of this door, carrying my child! I will do everything in my power to save her, will you do the same to Jennifer?"

Will took a deep breath. "Of course I will! Do you even have to ask?"

Troy put his hand back on the door. "Just checking," he muttered.

And with a loud bang Troy thrust the door open to find, Jennifer shackled to a wall, the exact same way Will was before.

"Jen!" Will cried and ran to her.

"Will!" Jennifer exclaimed.

Troy silently walked over to Jennifer. "We'll get you out, Jennifer," he promised.

Troy pulled a gun out of his pocket and aimed it at the lock, Will grabbed the gun from his hand.

"What the hell, man!? Are you _trying _to kill her?"

Troy sighed and grabbed the gun from his hands. "I know what I'm doing! I used to be a Dark Knight, remember? I've done this crap all the time."

Will nodded. "Do it."

Troy aimed the gun at the lock again, Jennifer closed her eyes and the gun set off, blowing the iron lock into bits and the chains falling to the ground.

Jennifer immediately fell into Will's arms. "I thought I would never see you again!" She cried.

Troy turned around, seeing them like this hurt too much, he needed Gabriella in his arms again.

"Jennifer, where's Gabriella?" Troy demanded while filling his gun will bullets.

Jennifer pulled away from Will's tight embrace. "I don't know, um.. with that freaky looking guy with the huge scar on the left side of his face."

Troy suddenly paled. "The Head." He breathed.

"Shit!" He cursed.

Will walked over to him. "What's wrong?"

Troy sighed, while running a hand through his hair. "The Head, will _kill_ her if I don't get there in time."

Jennifer interrupted. "No he won't."

Troy shot his head to Jennifer. "How do you know?"

"Well, I overheard him talking to some of these people in black coats saying that the baby needs to be born, so they can't harm her till.."

"The child is conceived." Troy finished.

Jennifer nodded, "Yes."

"Well, that's just great.." Troy muttered.

"I.. I think the door is around here.." Jennifer stated and started to move her hands around the wall.

The wall shifted suddenly just like it did before in the library.

Hesitantly, Troy took a step into the tunnel the led into the main room of the headquarters.

Once he knew the coast was clear he turned to Will and Jennifer.

"You two, go back to your room, and be safe."

Will shook his head. "No, man. I'm here for you, we both are."

"I've put you both in danger, that ends here." Troy said, and he turned around and slowly made his way to the headquarters.


	18. Surprising Romance

Troy made his way down that dark tunnel till he reached yet another wooden door.

"Very good," he whispered to himself. He decided this time not to open it so quickly. Troy quietly placed his hand on the wooden panel of the door and gently gave it a push. It opened just enough for him to see what was going on.

"Gabriella, Gabriella. You look marvelous in that dress!" The Head clapped his hands together in excitement. Gabriella wore a two piece red lace dress, one that showed off her toned stomach greatly. The Head made his way to Gabriella, gently wrapping an arm around her waist, pulling her closer.

"You will make a wonderful Queen," he whispered in her ear while moving a brown curly lock out of her face.

Gabriella pushed him away from her. "I will _never_ be your Queen." And with that she stormed away from him.

The Head put a hand under his chin. "She'll come around," he murmured.

Troy saw enough, he closed the door and let out a huge breath he realized he had been holding this whole time. "Gabriella, I'm so sorry," he whispered.

Troy decided to wait until The Head would leave so he could make his attack. He kept opening the door to peak every 10 minutes. Finally, about what seemed eternity The Head seemed to have vanished the next time Troy opened the door.

Gun, in hand Troy made his way into The Head's headquarters.

Troy followed the path he saw Gabriella go when she stormed away from The Head. Once he finally found the room, he put his hand on the handle to turn it but, it was locked.

"Fuck," he breathed.

He heard noises coming from inside the room. "Leave me alone!" Gabriella exclaimed from inside, the sound of glass shattering.

"Gabriella, honey." Troy knocked on the door anxiously. Once again he heard more strange noises coming from inside.

"I said, Leave me Alone! I don't want to be your Queen!" More glass shattered.

"Gabriella, it's Troy, let me in!"

Gabriella started to laugh from the inside. "Yeah, like I'm going to believe that."

"Unlock the Damn door, so I can save you!" Troy shouted, a little too loud. He heard footsteps coming from behind him. "Shit."

Suddenly Gabriella unlocked the door and grabbed Troy and brought him in.

"It is you!" She exclaimed and threw her arms around him.

Troy couldn't help himself, he hugged her tiny body back. She was still wearing the tiny silky red dress that The Head made her wear before.

He grabbed her head and kissed her forehead gently.

"Are you okay, the baby?" Troy asked while putting a warm, soft hand on her stomach.

"We're both fine." Gabriella smiled and leaned her head on his chest.

"You're heart is racing," she commented. Troy smiled gently and ran a gentle hand through her hair.

The footsteps that Troy heard before were getting closer, Gabriella lifted her head off his chest and threw Troy in her closet. Then the door opened.

"Gabriella, my Queen." The Head stood before her. "I heard noises." He said while walking around the room, looking around to find something.

"What do you expect to find?" Gabriella asked. "You aren't going to find anything."

"I'll be the judge of that." The Head said, while lifting up a box. He slowly put down the box and eyed the closet closely. He made his way to open it, Gabriella panicked, she quickly rushed in front of him and grabbed his face.

"I've been thinking.." Gabriella said flirtatiously. She gently with a finger traced the outline of The Head's muscles. "I would _love _to be your Queen."

The Head seemed to have forgotten completely about the closet, he slowly wrapped his arms around her tiny figure and kissed her. Gabriella, tried her hardest not to break the kiss instantly but she slowly wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his lips closer.

"_Just pretend like you're kissing Troy."_ She told herself.

The Head began to kiss her with more passion, and Gabriella responded by sticking her tongue gently into his mouth. "Mmm.." The Head moaned with satisfaction.

Inside the closet, Troy could see everything through a tiny little hole in the wall, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Was Gabriella doing this to protect him? Or.. did she really like him?

Next, The Head moved to Gabriella's small bed and laid her down, still kissing her. Troy couldn't believe this, was he going to have to watch them have _sex?_

Gabriella's eyes moved to the closet then she closed them again, kissing The Head with even more passion. The Head slowly brought his hand to Gabriella's dress strap and brought it down her arm, doing the same to the other. Now just the curve of her breast was showing.

Troy froze, Gabriella, was going to have sex with The Head.


	19. Man Behind the Mask

Troy couldn't believe his eyes at what he was seeing. He couldn't look, he snapped his eyes shut and buried his face in his hands. He _never _wanted to see his fiancée and his old Boss making out. And frankly, he didn't want to be stuck in this closet any longer.

So he took action.

His thoughts frantically raced back to his Dark Knight days.. all the action drills they had to learn. His mind immediately thought back to a certain one for small crawl spaces. A closet? Close enough.

His left foot slammed hard against the closet door, amazingly ripping it off the hinges. He sprang to his feet, guns in both hands, ready to kill.

The Head, shocked by the surprise attack threw Gabriella on the floor, he took out his weapons also.

**Complete Silence.**

The two stared at each other, their weapons pointed directly at the other. Troy eyed Gabriella on the floor closely.. she wasn't getting up. No movement at all. He forced his gaze to move back to the Head, he couldn't be weak, not now.

"Troy.. you don't know how long I've waited for this day." Troy gazed up at the Head. The smirk on his messed up face was _really _a shiver down the spine to look at.

"You have me, let Gabriella go, I know it's me you want.. you want to _kill _me. Not her." Troy's eyes never left the Head's. Secretly, he wondered who this man really was. He used to work for him, and he never knew his real identity.

"My boy.." He chuckled darkly. "I thought it was just you I wanted then..." The Head lowered his guns and moved to Gabriella on the floor, who still wasn't moving. Troy swallowed the lump in his throat as he saw the Head bend down next to her, touching her hair gently. How dare he touch her, hadn't he had his fun already?

"Don't.. touch her." His finger on the trigger was shaking, the Head was unarmed this was the perfect moment for him... just.. pull it.. pull the trigger..

The Head smirked again, "As I was saying.. It's not just you I want.. I want the _baby_ as well." The Head flipped Gabriella over on her back, placing a hand on her stomach, motioning to Troy who's face had gone extremely pale.

"How far along is she? Hmm?" The Head asked in curiosity.

Troy managed to speak despite his anger, "3 months."

The Head smiled to himself, stroking Gabriella's cheek softly. "She's hardly showing.. how.. delicate."

"What do you want from us?" Troy lowered his guns now, it was no use using them. All that would do is cause him to end up in the dungeon and he didn't need that.

"Troy, have I taught you nothing?" The Head sprang to his feet, causing Troy to point his guns back up at the Head.

"_Taught_ me?" Troy scowled. "All I learned from you was how to kill, not exactly something I'm proud of."

The Head chuckled, scratching the back of his bald head. "You don't know who I am, do you?" The Head released his grip on Gabriella, causing her to fall on the floor in a plump.

"Don't!" Troy yelled, a vein in his neck pulsing with anger.

The Head stood toe to toe with Troy, not showing an emotion whatsoever. His hand, reaching towards the back of his head. Troy watched in horror at what he was seeing. Slowly, the Head pulled the skin of his scalp over his head, and down over his face. Once the skin of his face was ripped off Troy realized it wasn't _really _his skin.. it was a mask.

And behind that mask was the face of his father. The face of Arthur.

"My son, why are you so shocked?" He smiled.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Author's Note:**

Hey, guys.

I'm sorry this took so long to get out! But, from now on I'm going to upload better on here.

Promise.

Xoxo

Lauren.


	20. Last Moments in the Brig

**Author's Rant ;) - **Hey guys! I just honestly wanna say that I'm sorry that this has taken me 2 months to update on this story. But I'm taking a break from writing DWAV and a Caged Bird to write the stories that I have neglected in the past. I am very proud on this story for I'm very close to reaching 200 reviews on it and that's my goal for by the time I'm done writing it. So please help me achieve my goal and REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! Send this story to friends! Tell others! Do all you can!

_____________________________

Nobody ever got the better of Troy before. Troy was his own man, and nobody dared to try to challenge what he was. But at the moment of Troy's father taking off his mask that disguised him for so long.. it truly got the better of him.

"F-father..," Troy spoke the word out, but didn't have time to say anything else for a group of large men wearing black suites barges through the door and grabbed his wrists and cuffed them behind his back, and they pushed him roughly out the door, but not before Troy caught one last glimpse of the unconscious Gabriella laying on her stomach, silent, "Somebody help her!" Troy yelled, struggling to get free of the dozen men surrounding him. Out of the corner of his eye Troy saw one of the huge men coming towards him, needle in hand.

OH.. crap.

Troy shook vigorously, "Help her," He panted, "Save Gabriella!" The man chose that moment to stick the needle in Troy's neck. He mumbled something non-understandable and passed out, limp in the arms of the huge black suited men.

One of the Dark Knights grabbed Troy and threw him over their shoulder and turned to the Head, "What do you wish for us to do with him, Sir?"

The Head smiled, rubbing his chin in thought at all the possibilities that he could do to Troy, and when would another chance like this come again? "Throw him in the brig," He spat out. The Knight nodded before leaving with Troy in arm. Once all the Dark Knights left the Head to be alone Arthur knelt down beside Gabriella, running a soft hand throughout her dark tresses, "You're going to make a fantastic Queen for the Head," Arthur spoke before picking Gabriella up in his arms, bridal style and leaving her now; destroyed bedroom and walking throughout the corridor and making his way to his bedroom and setting the delicate Gabriella Montez on his bed, but not before changing her out of her slinky seductive red dress and into a white one -a wedding dress.

"Tonight.. is a perfect night for a wedding," Arthur grinned.

___________________________

Troy opened his hurting eyes slowly to see that he was shirtless and chained to the cold concrete floor of the brig. Many times in his life he had thrown numerous amounts of innocent people in here, and now - he was one of them.

"Troy," He said to himself, rubbing the side of his face where he most likely got punched while he was passed out, "What have you done to yourself?"

Troy used to have an okay life - He was almost done working for the Dark Knights, he was soon to become King to replace the bastard of a father he had, and he had everything a man could want at the touch of a finger or the call of a servant. Now.. he was locked in a dungeon, alone, all because he fell in love with a reporter from Los Angeles. Though... after all the hardships he has been put through he would do them again in a heartbeat, for Gabriella. She truly is the love of his life and that wasn't going to change. Suddenly, there was a loud bang close by - the door of the brig was opened and shut. Troy got up and walked as far as the chains would allow him to see one of the large Dark Knights grabbing and pulling along a woman in a white dress.

As the woman got closer to Troy's vision he realized that it was.. Gabriella! The Dark Knight unlocked the gate to open the cage that kept Troy locked away and threw Gabriella down to the ground, and locking the gate again before speaking, "The Head is allowing you two one more chat before...," He smirked, " Before tonight." And with that he left.

"Gabriella," Troy tried to reach out to her, but his chains kept him immobile, "Sweetheart.. I'm sorry about everything that is happening, it's truly not fair to you.. or the baby," He spoke peering into the darkness trying to find Gabriella's figure, he could hear her breathing and groans as she attempted getting back on her feet. She must still be woozy from when she got thrown onto the floor and knocked out.

"Troy," Gabriella gasped as she was on her feet once again. She then moved as fast as he feet would take her so she could be in the arms of her beloved again. Troy grunted as she slammed into him with the force she had while running. Oh god, what were they going to do with her? This was their last moment to be together and they were to be separated, again!

As Troy looked into Gabriella's eyes he silently wondered, _was this ever going to end?_


	21. My Little Girl

"Mother..," A voice echoed through the darkness of the cold cell. Gabriella opened her eyes to find herself wrapped in the arms of Troy who was too fast asleep. Carefully Gabriella broke herself from his grasp and stood up, gathering her many layers to her dress before walking to the door to the brig. She felt an eery cold chill run down her spin and she grabbed ahold of the bars that kept her locked away. Gabriella peered into the darkness trying to find out where the voice had come from.

"Is someone there?" Gabriella questioned to the darkness. Her hands trailed down the bars of the brig and towards her heart for she noticed it was pumping so fast. Gabriella isn't a person to get frightened to easily so what was the matter with her?

"Please," she whispered, "Tell me who you are," Her voice shook with fear.

Silence.

Gabriella closed her eyes tightly. No one was there. Of course no one was there! She turned around and began to pace back and forth silently, cursing herself. She was going bad... yeah.. that was it. She had been locked up in this hell hole for five hours and she was already loosing her mind! She sat down on the old wooden chair that was supplied in the brig and placed her head in her hands. When she looked up her eyes met the beautiful sight of Troy sleeping in the corner. When she met Troy she wanted absolutely nothing to do with him. But he romanced her and loved her. The only thing that mattered to her now was being with him and having this baby with him.

The baby...

Gabriella's hand met her stomach fast. She knew that Troy's life was in danger all because of her. She should have never gotten caught and brought down here. If she never did Troy wouldn't have had to risk his life to save her! Why was she so dumb? This baby wasn't going to survive without Troy. No child deserved to not have a father.

"Mom, would you quit worrying!" The voice came again.

Gabriella stood straight up, "Who is that!" She whispered, "I command you to show yourself!"

"Relax," The voice spoke, this time Gabriella could sound it out better. It was a girls and it was coming from inside her cell, "It's me, Mom, Ellie."

Gabriella turned around to see a teenage girl leaning against the cell wall smiling, "You always were the worry wort.. one reason Dad loved you so much." The girl grinned and laughed silently.

Gabriella was at a loss for words, "Who... what.. how.."

The girl raised a hand to stop her, "Let me explain, I'm Elizabeth, or Ellie for short.. I'm your daughter.. the one you're uh.. carrying inside of you," Elizabeth explained.

"Daughter?" Gabriella questioned, "No, no.. I'm supposed to have a boy."

"Yeah..," Elizabeth nodded, "That's what the Doctors told you, but hey... I'm a girl!"

Gabriella sat back down shaky from everything that she was being told. She had so many questions that she needed answered as well.

"How are you here?" Gabriella asked.

Elizabeth laughed, "Don't worry Mom, this is all a dream, you'll wake up soon."

Gabriella smiled at Elizabeth's laugh it was so sweet and charming. She reminded her so much of Troy. The eyes, the hair and the charming dimple.

"I want to help you," Elizabeth started, "Grandfather wants to marry you to destroy Dad's ego.. yeah not so nice..," Elizabeth chuckled lightly.

"Wait.. that's why I'm wearing this.. _ridiculous _dress!?" Gabriella exclaimed.

Elizabeth couldn't contain her laughter, "Don't worry you'll get out of this."

"How!" Gabriella hissed. She couldn't believe how low Arthur was sinking to get his way.

"You'll think of something," Elizabeth grinned.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. That was a lot of help. Elizabeth looked at the watch on her wrist and sighed lightly, "I gotta get going Mom.."

Gabriella looked up at her saddened, "One last question."

"Go." Elizabeth said.

"How did I come up with the name.. Elizabeth?" Gabriella wondered aloud.

She smiled at that, "You didn't," She smiled, "Dad did.

Gabriella woke up then she felt like a huge brick had hit her face and knocked her out, "Ow." She moaned quietly trying hard not to wake Troy who was still fast asleep just like in her dream. Gabriella smiled.. she had met her daughter. Her beautiful daughter that she had always dreamed of having.

"My little girl," Gabriella whispered to her stomach.

Gabriella quickly frowned as she heard the door to the basement open and shut. Several footsteps sounded as they came into her view. Many men in black surrounded they cage they contained the lovers. They had come for her.


	22. AUTHOR'S MESSAGE

I am in desperate need of ideas for the next chapter of I Surrender. I wanna get this story finished but I seriously can't seem to pick up where I left off. So... darling viewers of mine, would you please be very kind and send me your ideas via Review or message? That would be lovely!

Trust me once I get an idea I love I will have the next chapter out in seconds. So hurry and send in your ideaz. Yes with a 'z'.

--LO


	23. Fight with You

**Author's Note: **Just wanna credit PerfectxSweetheartx for giving me the simple yet effective idea for this chapter. This chapter is for you. Also, I tried to put a bit of humor in this chapter, haha.

Oo, and I'm really excited because I'm almost done reading the 3rd Vampire Acadamy Book and I'm about to read the new one which I guess is about Rose killing Dimitri? I dunno. I don't think she'll do it haha. Anywhoser, this is the last chapter of I Surrender and wowww.. it's been so long. Haha. Please review peepsicles!

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Gabriella didn't know what to do. Several Dark Knights had just taken her out of her jail cell and were now taking her somewhere. The Knights began to lead her to a dark room with candles lighting the isle in the middle of the floor. Gabriella let out a small gasp, Elizabeth was right.

"I'll be walking you down the isle... if you don't mind," The dark knight whispered in her ear as he held onto her arm tightly. Gabriella let out a snort of disgust.

Standing at the end of the isle by the alter was her worst nightmare and future father-in-law, but now future husband - Arthur.

Never in her wildest dreams had she ever pondered the thought of growing old with anyone other than Troy. Wincing at the thought, she began thinking of how she and Arthur could ever be husband and wife.

Before she knew it, or anyone else for that matter Gabriella had winded up at the end of the isle with her position next to Arthur. With a tiny sigh she forced herself to turn towards the disgusting man. Then Gabriella remembered the dream she had the night before when Elizabeth came to her to warn her of Arthur's intentions. A scowl emerged upon her lips, which slowly turned into a tight smile.

The priest was starting to say the prayers and vows as he read from his bible, but Gabriella didn't even notice.

An old memory crossed her mind.

When Gabriella was around seven years old, her aunt was going to marry her second husband, but as she was headed down the isle she got cold feet and on basic instinct she sprinted towards the exit and never looked back. The memory caused Gabriella to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Arthur growled, wanting to get this over with.

Locking her gaze with his Gabriella leaned towards him to whisper, "This."

Gathering the skirts of her wedding dress she ran. She ran like never before towards one of the guards that was standing by the staircase leading to the dungeon downstairs where Troy was being kept. Behind her the noise of an angry mob was on her tail, but she was too quick for them, even in a wedding dress.

Her martial arts moves came in handy right about now. As she rounded the corner of the staircase she followed her intuition and reached out for the guard that didn't even notice Gabriella and flipped him hard on his back. Moving fast, she kneeled beside him and checked his many pockets for the set of keys that the guard always kept. Finally finding them she pounded her fist in the air victoriously, only to find the group of angry Dark Knights was within reach of her. Time for an ass whooping.

Frantically trying to find a promising place to keep the set of keys she decided on stuffing them down the cleavage of her breasts. Oh well.

You'd think doing martial arts on a group of five men would be hard for a woman in a wedding dress, but you thought wrong - especially of Gabriella Montez. While taking them down one by one she saw in the corner of her eye that Arthur in his creepy mask was headed for her with at least a dozen of dark knights following behind him. How does Arthur manage to find so many guys to join this group? Hard to tell.

She didn't have enough time to finish off the new batch of Dark Knights, so she took a chance at running down the stone steps to the dungeon. With a huge adrenaline rush she successfully made it to the bottom. There she saw Troy. She didn't get to look at him for too long but from what she could see he was badly hurt, and it was unknown to her if he could move or not.

Glancing up the stone staircase she saw the group of Dark Knights headed for them. What to do.. what to do.. her eyes locked with a huge bolder next to the opening. It was supposed to act like a door. Carefully, she pushed it with all her might. She made sure that her belly wasn't strained or being pushed to hard against the rock.

A great sigh of relief escaped her lips as the rock was put in place of the opening. Gabriella knew she didn't have much time. She almost couldn't move that bolder, but she knew a group of ten strong men could move it easily. But she needed time for Troy.

Running towards the gate and breaking the lock with a rock she found on the ground she entered Troy's cell. His eyes were closed, his breathing shallow. She hated being worried, but she couldn't help her womanly instincts from kicking in at that moment. Her hands wrapped around the small metal dish on the ground that collected the rain water from the leaking roof. With a small prayer she dumped the water on top of Troy, causing him to wake. Gabriella couldn't have been more happier at that moment. The electricity burned through her veins as she cupped Troy's face and his blue eyes burned into her mocha ones.

Everything about him made her weak. Troy had lost almost everything because of her. She wasn't going to give up on him now. Upon her lip she tasted a salty tear that fell from her cheek. Without warning Troy moved the pad of his thumb to her bottom lip to wipe it off.

Grabbing his hand that rested on her chin she whispered, "Will you fight them off with me?"

Troy smiled, "Absolutely."

Helping Troy stand, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders to help him gain his strength and balance back. Noises from behind the huge rock were getting louder and louder, which scared Gabriella. If Troy didn't regain his strength soon now - they could kill him. With one glance at him he nodded at her, saying he was ready. But Gabriella wasn't sure. Snaking his arm off her shoulders, Gabriella was surprised to see how much better he looked. His face wasn't as pale, his posture was more straight and confident. The Dark Knights were almost through the bolder when Troy caught her hand in his.

His fingers tightened around her small ones, "Remember I love you."

Troy Bolton was hers. It had never sunk in to Gabriella that she, a journalist would be marrying a Prince that loved her enough to _want _to grow old with her, have babies with her, and protect her for the rest of their lives together. And that made her complete.

Gabriella studied martial arts for five years for protection, but her skills couldn't compete to Troy's Dark Knight studies. He moved so quick and he was so skilled all at the same time that she couldn't keep up with him. Once while fending the group of knights Troy and Gabriella ran into each other, causing them to jump, but once they realized that it was just them they got back into fighting.

Soon enough the group of Knights was getting too much for both of them. Troy saw that Gabriella was struggling with her punches and kicks, and her usual surprise moves weren't working any more. Grabbing a gun from the pocket of one of the Knights he shot down about five.

He moved breathless to Gabriella, causing his side to hurt painfully, "Gabriella, you need to get out of here!" He screamed over the loud shouts of the Dark Knights.

Shaking her head she managed to dodge a Knight that was headed for her, and she grabbed his ankle causing him to flip in the air and landing on his back, "I'm not leaving you!"

Why did she have to be so stubborn? Troy groaned as he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder, but he ignored it enough to shoot down about three more knights that were headed towards Gabriella. He stumbled backwards, noticing how lightheaded he felt he moved his hand to the pain in his shoulder. Warm red liquid was raining down his shoulder and seeping through his white thermal shirt.

"Shit," he groaned. Glancing over at Gabriella again he saw that she was in trouble, for the knights were surrounding her dangerously. Taking the gun out he shot as many as he could despite his dizziness.

She was on the ground then so she could dodge the bullets. Her small hands roamed the floor frantically. She smiled victoriously as her fingers the shape of a blade. Two more knights stood before her and she knew what to do next. Swinging her leg around their ankles they fell down on the floor in a heap. Never had she wanted to kill anyone but as she was bringing the blade down towards the men she never felt any regret. A gun shot fired twice.

Gabriella glanced over at Troy laying down on the ground, motionless. He had shot the knights before she had the chance to finish them off.

"I don't want to see you killing people." Troy softly murmured. Wrapping his hands around his pained shoulder. Clenching his teeth he winced at the arousing pain that was moving towards his chest.

"Troy!" Gabriella cried as she saw the blood that was now pouring out of his upper abdomen. Glancing behind her she saw Arthur struggling on the ground mask less. Even without the terrible cover up he was still creepy and eery.

Her fingers wrapped around the gun that was in Troy's tight grasp. Even if he didn't want her to kill she had to do this, "Don't watch Troy." Gabriella warned as her finger shook on the trigger.

A shot echoed throughout the halls. But no sound followed after. All that was left was Troy and Gabriella and a mask lying on the ground covered in blood.

"Oh Troy." Gabriella stiffened, pulling him into her embrace. Shakily she dug through one of the Knight's pockets and retrieved a cell phone. Her unsteady fingers dialed the three numbers that she needed to save Troy's life.

"911.. what's your emergency?"

A small cry escaped her throat, "Please hurry..h-he's been shot."

"An ambulance is on the way ma'am, please stay on the line with me until they arrive."

Crying hard, she nodded, "Okay." Her fingers slipped and the phone fell on the floor.

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His electric blue eyes opened slowly to absorb his current surroundings. A heart monitor, several blood transfusions connected to his chest and shoulder, and a very sad raven haired beauty holding onto his hand. What happened? His mind hurt as he tried to remember the events that caused him to wind up here. Soon everything came back to him like a lightening bolt.

His free hand moved towards Gabriella as he caressed her hair. She looked up at him with red eyes, "OH my god."

Her arms were around him then.

"I.. I didn't know what to think! You were shot.. twice.. Troy, oh my gosh I'm so happy you're okay, do you feel better? Does anything hurt? Should I call a nurse?" She rambled, her mouth never stopping.

Troy put a finger to her lips to stop her careless blabbering, "A kiss would be nice." A smirk played on his lips.

"Hmm," Gabriella stated moving in towards his lips. Once their mouths touched Troy felt one hundred times better than he did a minute ago. He needed Gabriella so bad and the feel of her lips against his drove his mind crazy, "How was that?" She asked, pulling away.

"Too good." Troy smiled.

Questions were asked and answers were given then. Some of the news hit hard, especially the news of Gabriella shooting down his father, that memory soon resurfaced, but what he wanted and needed most was thankfully still with him.

Her fingers danced upon the skin of his cheek, "You're the King, Troy.. you can now do all the things your Father never did!"

His fingers enclosed around hers, "King.. hmph, it's so strange."

Her head bent to the side, "Strange?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm King.. I never expected to inherit power at such a young age. And you.. you're Queen." He smiled.

"Troy.." Gabriella glanced away.

"I won't force you to be, I can understand that you might not want to be in control of that much power, I respect that, I respect you," Troy smiled, kissing her temple.

The words he spoke touched her heart, he really did love her, it showed. "I'm with you always. Of course I'll be your Queen."

Troy smiled proudly, "Then.. our son will be a Prince?" His hands found their way to Gabriella's small baby bump. Her hands found their way towards his as she held them.

"About that.. what if he's a Princess?" Gabriella questioned.

Troy's eyes narrrowed, "The doctor said..."

"I feel it in my heart, Troy." Gabriella smiled proudly causing Troy to smile, moving his lips towards the top of the baby bump in a sweet kiss.

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End file.
